Affiliations: Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry, Haukeland
University Hospital, Bergen, Norway | Department of Pediatrics, Haukeland University
Hospital, Bergen, Norway | Bevital A/S, Armauer Hansens Hus, Bergen, Norway | Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Abstract: Low birth weight has been associated with chronic low-grade
inflammation and later cardiovascular disease. Whether this is related to low
birth weight due to premature birth, being born small for gestational age
(birth weight below the 10th percentile for gestational age) or variations in
postnatal growth patterns is unknown. The objective of this study was to
explore the impact of fetal growth restriction versus low birth weight due to
prematurity on inflammatory status in later life. We investigated systemic
markers of cell-mediated immune activation, kynurenine/tryptophan ratio and
high-sensitive CRP (hs-CRP), in two population-based cohorts of children aged
10 and 17 years, who were born preterm (gestational age ⩽
28 weeks) or with an extremely-low-birth weight (< 1000 g)
(n=4). The controls were sex-and age-matched term-born
with appropriate for gestational age birth weight children (n=75). Children
born premature and small for gestational age had higher Kyn/Trp and hs-CRP
compared to both age-matched preterms with appropriate for gestational age
birth weight (p=0.01 and p=0.002, for Kyn/Try ratio and CRP respectively)
and controls (p < 0.001 and p=0.001). No significant
differences in inflammatory markers were observed between appropriate for
gestational age preterms and controls. Our observations suggest that the
chronic low-grade immune activation observed in adults born with a low birth
weight may be related to fetal growth restriction rather than low birth weight due to prematurity.
Keywords: Cardiovascular disease, birth weight, small for gestational age, kynurenines
