Babies who exhibit poor growth during the first trimester may be at increased risk for a variety of heart problems during childhood, according to a new study published by the British Medical Journal.
Knowing that the first three months of pregnancy represent a period of rapid development, including when the heart begins to form, a group of Dutch researchers decided to take a look and see if limited growth during this phase was linked to cardiovascular risk after the child was born.
The study looked at nearly 1,200 school-age children for whom the first trimester length measurements were known. Based on their lengths, the children were split into five groups and, when they were 6 years old, examined for cardiovascular risk factors, such as body mass index, body fat distribution, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and insulin concentrations.
The mothers' age, ethnicity, education, smoking status, body mass index and blood pressure were measured as well.
In the end, the results showed that those children who were in the smallest fifth during their first trimester had much more total fat mass and fat stored around the abdomen, as well as both higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels when compared to the largest fifth.
Moreover, those with restricted growth also tended to have more than one of these risk factors as a child.
According to Gordon Smith and Catherine Aiken from the University of Cambridge, the study is part of a larger trend in research supporting the idea that slow fetal growth may be tied to a wide number of diseases later in life.
However, they wrote in an accompanying editorial, "we need a deeper understanding of the strength, nature and mechanisms of the reported associations before rushing to intervene."
The authors admit that while some of the associations described in the new study may be the result of chance, they indicate that the first three months of pregnancy may be a crucial proving ground when it comes to heart and metabolic function later in life.
"Further studies are needed to identify the underlying causal biological mechanisms and long term consequences," they said in a statement, suggesting that future research "start from early pregnancy onwards or even before conception."
