Fetoplacental factors may explain relation of low birth weight with high blood pressure

Low birth weight is associated with higher blood pressure from an early age. One popular explanation is that maternal nutrition influences both birth weight and blood pressure. Dwyer et al (p 1325) examined the association between birth weight and blood pressure within twin pairs and found that maternal factors, such as diet in pregnancy, cannot be wholly responsible for the association between birth weight and blood pressure because it was just as strong in within twin pair comparisons. Genetic factors could not explain the association because it remained within pairs of monozygotic twins. The origins of cardiovascular disease must involve factors that arise from the fetus or placenta.

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Relevant Article

Within pair association between birth weight and blood pressure at age 8 in twins from a cohort study

Terence Dwyer, Leigh Blizzard, Ruth Morley, and Anne-Louise Ponsonby
BMJ 1999 319: 1325-1329. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]