Early growth and changes in blood pressure during adult life.

Previous studies suggest that the inverse association between birth weight and adult blood pressure amplifies with age. Rapid childhood growth has also been linked to hypertension. The objective of this study was to determine whether the association between childhood growth and adult blood pressure amplifies with age. The study comprised 574 women and 462 men from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study who attended a clinical study in 2001-2004 and a follow-up in 2006-2008. Mean age at the clinic visits was 61.5 and 66.4 years, respectively. Blood pressure was measured at both occasions. Conditional growth models were used to assess relative weight gain and linear growth. We studied the associations between conditional growth and blood pressure as well as the presence of hypertension. Relative weight gain and linear growth between ages 2 and 11 years were inversely associated with systolic blood pressure at mean age 66.4 years, after adjustment for sex, blood pressure at mean age 61.5 years, as well as other covariates. A one s.d. increase in linear growth between 2 and 11 years was associated with an OR of 0.61 for hypertension at mean age 66.4 years. Contrary to previous studies, we have shown an inverse association between childhood growth and adult blood pressure. There were, however, no associations between childhood growth and systolic blood pressure at mean age 61.5 years indicating that the beneficial effects of a more rapid than expected childhood growth might become more apparent with increasing age.

Regional differences in birth size: a comparison between the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study and contemporaneous births on the Åland Islands.

The Åland Islands were recently ranked as Finland's healthiest region with lower prevalence of several non-communicable diseases compared with the national mean. We have compared birth characteristics of 1697 individuals born on the Åland Islands between 1937 and 1944 with contemporaneous data from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (HBCS; n=11,808). This is a first step towards a potential future analysis of Ålandic health from a life-course perspective. Mean birth weight and length were calculated for both cohorts. Birth weight was entered into a multiple linear regression model with sex, maternal age, marital status and birth year as predictors. Mean birth weight in the Åland cohort was 3499 g, 87 g (95% CI 62; 111) higher compared with the HBCS. Sex and maternal marital status were the strongest predictors of birth weight. More detailed studies are needed to explore the potential effects of this difference in average birth weight between cohorts.