Prenatal ultrasound biometry related to subsequent blood pressure in childhood

Abstract

Study objective: To relate measures of fetal growth/size other than birth weight with subsequent blood pressure measured on the same individuals within the context of the "fetal origins of adult disease". Design: A prospective cohort study in which measurements of fetal dimensions obtained by serial ultrasound imaging between 18 and 38 weeks gestation were analysed with reference to systolic blood pressure measurements on the offspring at age 6 years. Setting: Perth, Western Australia. Participants: A subgroup of 707 eligible mother-fetus pairs from a cohort of 2876 pregnant women and their offspring. The number of mother-fetus pairs varied at each gestational age and by measurement of fetal..