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Food and health

Association of breastfeeding duration, birth weight, and current weight status with the risk of elevated blood pressure in preschoolers

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 74, pages 1325–1333 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/objectives

Few studies have examined the effects of the weight status at birth and preschool age on the risk of elevated blood pressure (EBP) in early childhood, and whether the effects can be modified by breastfeeding duration remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the effects of high birth weight (HBW) with overweight/obese or abdominal obesity on the risk of EBP in preschoolers, and further evaluate the effects classified by breastfeeding duration (<6 and ≥6 months).

Subjects/methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018 in Zhuhai, China. Out of 2390 3–4-year-old preschoolers originally recruited, a total of 1899 were included in the analysis. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the effects of the weight status at the two age points and breastfeeding duration on the risk of EBP.

Results

Preschoolers with current overweight/obese had a 1.13-fold increased risk of EBP than those with persistent normal weight, irrespective of their birth weight. However, the preschoolers with HBW had no increased risk of EBP, when they became normal weight (OR 1.70, 0.78–3.72). Similar results were found for the current abdominal obesity and the risk of EBP. In addition, the EBP risk of obese status was minimized if preschoolers were breastfed for ≥6 months.

Conclusions

Obesity status at preschool age can increase the risk of EBP, irrespective of birth weight. However, this EBP risk can be mitigated if HBW changes to current normal weight. Longer breastfeeding duration can partially offset the risk of EBP in preschoolers with obesity status.

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Fig. 1: The SBP and DBP levels of the four groups classified by birth weight status and the BMI/WC status at preschool age.

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Acknowledgements

We extend our sincere thanks to the healthcare staff from the Maternal and Child Health Center and the Community Health Service Centers in Zhuhai city that provided support in the project through data collection and services on the front lines. We also greatly appreciate the families who have been willing to be involved in this research project.

Funding

Source of funding: This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81673182) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, HUST (Grant No. 2016YZXD041).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Rd., Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China

    Jiahong Sun, Lisha Wu, Yuanyuan Zhang, Chunan Li, Yake Wang & Jianduan Zhang

  2. Department of Information, Zhuhai Public Hospital Administration, 41 Jiaoyu Rd., Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong, China

    Wenhua Mei

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Jinan University, 601 Huangpu Western Rd., Guangzhou, 510632, Guangdong, China

    Wenhua Mei

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Contributions

JZ and WM designed the project; JZ, JS, LW, YZ, CL, YW, and WM conducted data collection; JS analyzed data or performed statistical analysis; JS wrote the paper; JZ and WM had primary responsibility for the final content. All authors read and approved the final paper.

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Correspondence to Jianduan Zhang.

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Sun, J., Wu, L., Zhang, Y. et al. Association of breastfeeding duration, birth weight, and current weight status with the risk of elevated blood pressure in preschoolers. Eur J Clin Nutr 74, 1325–1333 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-020-0608-5

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