Blood pressure in late adolescence and very low birth weight

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether blood pressure (BP) differed between very low birth weight (VLBW; birth weight 2499 g) subjects in late adolescence, and to determine whether growth restriction in utero was related to BP in VLBW survivors at this age. METHODS: This was a cohort study of 210 preterm survivors with birth weights <1501 g born from January 1, 1977, to March 31, 1982, and 60 randomly selected NBW subjects from the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne. BP was measured at 18+ years of age in 156 (74%) VLBW subjects and 38 (63%) NBW subjects with both a standard mercury sphygmomanometer and an ambulatory BP monitor. RESULTS: VLBW subjects had higher sphygmomanometer systolic and diasto..