Obesity and Systolic Blood Pressure in Young Adult Men Born Small for Gestational Age

Individuals born small for gestational age (SGA) are supposed to be at higher risk to develop cardiovascular disorders, and recent report showed that concurrent obesity influences blood pressure (BP) in SGA children. Our aim was to investi- gate the impact of obesity and birth weight on blood pressure values in young adult men born SGA and controls born after normal pregnancy, Normotensive, non-treated adult men were enrolled (N=185; mean age 21.29 ± 0.9 years). Birth para- meters were obtained from medical records and SGA was defined as birth weight (BW) under 10th percentile for gestational age and obesity as BMI >25 kg/m2. According to the presence or absence of obesity and BW the subjects were divided into four groups: (1) non-obese with normal BW (N=50), (2) non-obese SGA (N=67), (3) obese with normal BW (N=40), (4) obese SGA (N=28). BP was measured using Omron M6 and Spacelab 90207 device following the ESH/ESC guidelines. Systolic BP 24-hour BP variability and pulse pressure were significantly higher in SGA subjects than in those with normal , BW (p<0.05). The highest 24-hour and daytime systolic BP values as well as 24-hour pulse pressure were found in the sub- group of obese SGA subjects (p<0.001). Significant differences for the above parameters were observed between obese SGA group and non-obese SGA group (p<0.05). Obese SGA subjects had higher 24-hour and daytime systolic BP values com- pared to obese normal BW group. No difference was found in BP between non-obese SGA and non-obese group with normal BW (p>0.05). In addition to BW and shorter pregnancy duration, obesity concurrently and significantly determines sys- tolic BP in young normotensive men and point to a need for more agressive implementation of healthy lifestyle as early as possible.