Publications (2)5.22 Total impact
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Article: The association of birth weight with developmental trends in blood pressure from childhood through mid-adulthood: the Bogalusa Heart study.
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ABSTRACT: Low birth weight has been found to be associated with cardiovascular mortality and morbidity and with an adverse profile of several cardiovascular risk factors. The inverse association between birth weight and blood pressure was consistently reported from many populations. Using longitudinal data from the Bogalusa Heart Study (Louisiana), the authors investigated the association between birth weight and progression of blood pressure through early adulthood, comparing that relation between African Americans and Whites. Birth data of 2,275 participants, screened two or more times in the Bogalusa Heart Study between 1973 and 2001, were retrospectively obtained from birth certificates and were linked to their clinical, laboratory, and socioeconomic and lifestyle data in the Bogalusa Heart Study data sets. Birth weight was inversely associated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and pulse pressure (p<or=0.01 for all). For every 1-kg increase in birth weight, systolic blood pressure dropped by 1.9 mmHg (95% confidence interval: -2.6, -1.3), diastolic blood pressure by 0.7 mmHg (95% confidence interval: -1.2, -0.2), and pulse pressure by 1.2 mmHg (95% confidence interval: -1.7, -0.7). The interaction of birth weight with ethnicity was not significant for any outcome. Birth weight was inversely associated with later blood pressure. The strength of that association did not differ between African Americans and Whites.American Journal of Epidemiology 09/2007; 166(4):413-20. · 5.22 Impact Factor -
Article: Emergence of obesity and cardiovascular risk for coronary artery disease: the Bogalusa Heart Study.
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ABSTRACT: The underlying determinants of cardiovascular risk are governed by both genetic and lifestyle factors. One of the major adverse outcomes of unhealthy lifestyles is obesity, the genesis of which begins in childhood. Obesity, an important risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension, persists (tracks) strongly from adolescent years to adulthood. Secular trends toward increased obesity in the past 25 years have occurred in children and adults alike. Of interest, baseline adiposity precedes hyperinsulinemia in all age groups, independently of race, sex, and baseline insulin levels. Adiposity is an independent predictor of the risk of developing the cluster of risk variables of the metabolic syndrome X, beginning in childhood. Exposure to a multiple risk factor burden over time enhances the development of coronary atherosclerosis and hypertensive cardiovascular disease. In fact, autopsy studies in youths have shown that the extent of fibrotic atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries, measured antemortem, increases markedly with the presence of syndrome X risk variables. Further, in overweight children, insulin levels are associated with left ventricular mass. In young people, overnutrition, coupled with physical inactivity, leads to weight gain. Since obesity, unhealthy dietary habits, and a sedentary lifestyle are interrelated and modifiable, prevention and intervention must begin in early life. (c)2001 CHF, Inc.Preventive Cardiology 02/2001; 4(3):116-121.
