Woelk G B
Department of Community Medicine, University of Zimbabwe, Harare.
S Afr Med J. 1995 Dec;85(12 Pt 2):1348-9, 1352-3.
Recently, a number of studies have found an association between low birth weight and fetal growth retardation, with the risk of elevated blood pressure and hypertension in adulthood. This paper reviews this literature with particular reference to Africa. There appears to be an inverse relationship between birth weight and blood pressure; this has been observed in adults and children. Among adolescents and infants, however, the findings have been inconsistent. In Africa, although this apparent association may be obscured by undiagnosed and unreported hypertension, differential low birth weight mortality and lower levels of longevity and obesity, it may provide a partial explanation for the rapidly increasing prevalence of hypertension on the continent.
最近，一些研究发现低出生体重与胎儿生长受限之间存在关联，且成年后患高血压和血压升高的风险也会增加。本文回顾了这方面的文献，特别提及了非洲地区。出生体重与血压之间似乎呈负相关；这一现象在成年人和儿童中均有观察到。然而，在青少年和婴儿中，研究结果并不一致。在非洲，尽管这种明显的关联可能因未诊断和未报告的高血压、低出生体重死亡率差异以及较低的长寿和肥胖水平而被掩盖，但它可能为该大陆高血压患病率迅速上升提供部分解释。
