Relationship Between Selected Hormonal and Metabolic Parameters at Birth and Blood Pressure During Pre-Adolescence/Relacion Entre Parametros Endocrino-Metabolicos Al Nacimiento y la Presion Arterial Durante la Pre-Adolescencia (Report‪)‬

The possibility of an intrauterine programming of blood pressure later on in life and the risk of various chronic diseases attracts considerable interest. This hypothesis is supported by a growing number of observational and experimental studies (1) although concerns have been raised on some methodological limitations of these studies, the different outcomes selected and the inconsistencies of the results (2). Furthermore, most studies used birth weight and other anthropometric measures at birth as proxy indicators for intrauterine growth impairment without providing physiological or metabolic explanatory data for the possible mechanisms underlining these associations. It was observed (3) endocrinological alterations associated with intrauterine growth restriction, particularly higher growth hormone values in cord blood at birth, perhaps as a functional compensatory mechanism of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis to foetal growth restriction (3). As a follow-up to these results, we have conducted the present prospective study specifically designed to evaluate the following a-priori question: is there a relationship between selected hormonal and metabolic parameters at birth and at 8 years of age with blood pressure during pre-adolescence? Also, we have evaluated the differences in postnatal growth and blood pressure between intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and normal birth weight (NBW) children. MATERIAL AND METHODS