Intrauterine exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and postnatal growth in extremely and very preterm infants.

OBJECTIVES

There is growing evidence regarding the association between rapid growth during infancy and metabolic and cardiovascular diseases later in life. We aimed to evaluate postnatal growth trajectories in extremely and very preterm infants exposed to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) in utero.

STUDY DESIGN

This multicenter retrospective study used a nationwide database of preterm infants weighing ≤1,500 g born between 22 and 31 weeks of gestation between 2003 and 2015.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The Z-scores for height and weight were evaluated at three time points (at birth, corrected age of 1.5 years, and chronological age of 3 years) in 5,144 infants (HDP, n = 1,188; non-HDP, n = 3,956). Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to investigate the associations between HDP exposure and accelerated postnatal growth.

RESULTS

Male and female infants in the HDP group showed increased mean Z-scores for height and weight, whereas those in the non-HDP group showed decreased mean Z-scores. Multivariate analyses showed that HDP were associated with accelerated postnatal growth (Δ Z-scores) in weight in both male and female infants (β coefficient [95% CI]; male 0.17 [0.05-0.30], female 0.27 [0.14-0.39]), but not in height (male 0.02 [-0.09 to 0.13], female 0.04 [-0.06 to 0.15]). An interaction analysis revealed no significant differences in the effects of HDP on postnatal growth between male and female infants.

CONCLUSIONS

Intrauterine exposure to HDP contributes to accelerated postnatal weight growth in extremely and very preterm infants during early childhood. In addition, no sex differences were observed in postnatal growth.