Association between physical activity and cardiovascular parameters in 7-year-old children: a Chinese cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Physical activity (PA) is believed to play an important part in many aspects during childhood and adolescence, especially cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic health. However, whether different levels of PA in daily life influence the structure or function of heart in school-aged children remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the association between PA and cardiovascular parameters in 7-year-old children. METHODS: Follow-up data from the Shanghai Prenatal Cohort Study and the Shanghai Birth Cohort was analyzed. Perinatal information including both maternal and offspring datum was recorded. A refined questionnaire was used to evaluate the frequency and duration of children's PA levels. Blood pressure, echocardiography, and anthropometry assessment were conducted during the follow-up of 7-year-old children. RESULTS: Overall, high PA level was associated with higher left ventricle posterior wall thickness in diastole (LVPWd, ß coefficient: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.61), higher left ventricle mass index (LVMI, ß = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.48), mitral E/a ratio (ß = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.71) and slower heart rate (ß = -0.32, 95% CI: -0.57, -0.07), compared to low PA level. Medium PA level was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure (DBP, ß = -0.18, 95% CI: -0.35, -0.01). In subgroup analysis, increased relative wall thickness (RWT) was found in high PA level boys (ß = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.67), and systolic blood pressure (SBP) showed a significant decrease in high PA level girls (ß = -0.42, 95% CI: -0.78, -0.06). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested non-athlete children having higher PA level were associated with thicker left ventricle (LV) walls and better LV diastolic function, as well as slower heart rate and DBP at the age of 7. Furthermore, disparity in the association between PA level with morphological heart patterns and blood pressure existed in different sex category.

Exploring the impact of prenatal perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure on blood pressure in early childhood: A longitudinal analysis.

Previous research investigating the correlation between prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and subsequent blood pressure (BP) in offspring has yielded limited and contradictory findings. This study was conducted to investigate the potential relationship between maternal PFAS levels during pregnancy and subsequent BP in early childhood. A total of 129 expectant mothers from the Shanghai Birth Cohort were included in the study. Using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, we measured ten PFAS compounds in maternal plasma throughout the pregnancy. When the children reached the age of 4, we examined their systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP), along with mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP). Data interpretation employed multiple linear and logistic regression models, complemented by Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR).We found that the majority of PFAS concentrations remained stable during pregnancy. The linear and BKMR models indicated a positive relationship between the PFAS mixture in maternal plasma and offspring's DBP and MAP, with perfluorohexanesulphonic acid (PFHxS) having the most significant influence (PFHxS and DBP [first trimester:ß=3.03, 95%CI: (1.01,5.05); second trimester: ß=2.35, 95%CI: (0.94,3.75); third trimester: ß=2.57, 95%CI:(0.80,4.34)]; MAP [first trimester:ß=2.55, 95%CI: (0.64,4.45); second trimester: ß=2.28, 95%CI: (0.95,3.61); third trimester: ß=2.35, 95%CI:(0.68,4.01)]). Logistic regression highlighted an increased risk of prehypertension and hypertension in offspring with higher maternal PFHxS concentrations during all three trimesters [first trimester: OR=2.53, 95%CI:(1.11,5.79), second trimester: OR=2.05, 95%CI:(1.11,3.78), third trimester: OR=3.08, 95%CI:(1.40,6.79)]. A positive correlation was identified between the half-lives of PFAS and the odds ratio (OR) of prehypertension and hypertension in childhood (ß=0.139, P=0.010). In conclusion, this research found maternal plasma PFAS concentrations to be positively associated with BP in offspring, with PFHxS showing the most significant influence. This correlation remained consistent throughout pregnancy, and this effect was proportional to the half-lives of PFAS.

The association of gestational age and birthweight with blood pressure, cardiac structure, and function in 4 years old: a prospective birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Current evidence relating birthweight and gestational age to cardiovascular risk is conflicting. Whether these factors have independent or interactive impacts on cardiovascular parameters during early childhood remains unclear. The goal of this study was to explore whether there were any independent and interactive effects of gestational age and birthweight on blood pressure, left ventricle (LV) structure, and function in 4 years old. METHODS: This study included 1194 children in the Shanghai Birth Cohort from 2013 to 2016. Information about the mothers and children was recorded at time of birth using a questionnaire. Follow-up measurements, including anthropometric, blood pressure, and echocardiography, were taken between 2018 and 2021, when the children were 4 years old. Multiple linear or logistic regressions and restricted cubic spline were used to explore the association of birthweight and gestational age with cardiovascular measurements. RESULTS: Gestational age had a significant negative correlation with both systolic blood pressure [ß = - 0.41, 95% CI: (- 0.76, - 0.07)] and mean arterial pressure [ß = - 0.36, 95%CI: (- 0.66, - 0.07)]. The risk of prehypertension decreased with increased gestational age [OR = 0.54, 95% CI: (0.32, 0.93)]. The relationship between birthweight with blood pressure was U-shape (P for non-linear < 0.001). The wall thickness, volume, mass, and cardiac output of LV increased with birthweight, though the ejection fraction [ß = - 1.02, 95% CI: (- 1.76, - 0.27)] and shorten fraction [ß = 0.72, 95% CI: (- 1.31, - 0.14)] decreased with birthweight. The risk of LV hypertrophy was not associated with birthweight [OR = 1.59, 95% CI: (0.68, 3.73)]. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found different associations of birthweight and gestational age with cardiovascular measurements in the offspring at 4 years old. Gestational age influenced blood pressure independent of birthweight. Heart size and function at 4 years old was influenced mostly by birthweight and not by gestational age.

Perfluoroalkyl substances in umbilical cord blood and blood pressure in offspring: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Humans are widely exposed to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have been found to be associated with various adverse birth outcomes. As blood pressure (BP) is an important parameter reflecting cardiovascular health in early life, it is necessary to investigate the association of PFAS exposure during early lifetime and BP in childhood. Therefore, we investigated the potential association between PFAS levels in umbilical cord blood and BP of the offspring at 4 years of age in a prospective cohort study. METHODS: PFAS in umbilical cord blood samples after birth were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry in the Shanghai Birth Cohort. BP was measured at 4 years of age in the offspring. Multiple linear regression model was used to investigate the association between individual PFAS level and BP of the offspring. Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) was used to analyze the relationship between the PFAS mixture and BP of the offspring, while weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression was utilized for sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: A total of 129 mother-child pairs were included in our analysis. In multiple linear regressions, we observed that long-chain PFAS, mainly including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUA), was negatively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP). BKMR showed that an increase in umbilical cord blood PFAS mixture levels was significantly associated with a decrease in SBP, DBP and MAP [Estimated differences (SD): -0.433 (0.161); -0.437 (0.176); -0.382 (0.179), respectively]. The most important component in the association with SBP, DBP, and MAP was PFUA. PFDoA was found to be positively associated with SBP, DBP and MAP in both models. Sensitivity analysis with WQS regression showed consistent results. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that umbilical blood PFAS exposure was negatively associated with BP in offspring at 4 years of age, including SBP, DBP, and MAP.

Maternal plasma perfluoroalkyl substances concentrations in early pregnancy and cardiovascular development in offspring: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: High maternal plasma perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations has been associated with adverse birth outcomes, but data on early childhood cardiovascular health is limited. This study aimed to assess the potential association between maternal plasma PFAS concentrations during early pregnancy and cardiovascular development in offspring. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cardiovascular development was assessed through blood pressure measurement, echocardiography and carotid ultrasound examinations among 957 children from the Shanghai Birth Cohort aged at 4 years old. Maternal plasma concentrations of PFAS were measured at mean gestational age of 14.4 (SD:1.8) weeks. The joint associations between PFAS mixture concentrations and cardiovascular parameters were analyzed using a Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). The potential association of individual PFAS chemicals concentrations was explored using multiple linear regression. RESULTS: In BKMR analyses, carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), interventricular septum thickness in diastole and systole, posterior wall thicknesses in diastole and systole, and relative wall thickness were significantly lower when all log10-transformed PFAS were fixed at 75th percentile in comparison to at their 50th percentile[Estimated overall Risk:-0.31 (95%CI: -0.42, -0.20), -0.09 (95%CI: -0.11, -0.07), -0.21 (95%CI: -0.26, -0.16), -0.09 (95%CI: -0.11, -0.07), -0.07 (95%CI: -0.10, -0.04) and -0.005 (95%CI: -0.006, -0.004)].Furthermore, maternal plasma concentrations of individual short-chain PFAS was associated with a decrease in left ventricular wall thickness, intraventricular septum thickness and enlarged chamber volume, and long-chain with a decrease in cIMT. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that maternal plasma PFAS concentrations during early pregnancy was adversely associated with cardiovascular development in offspring, including thinner cardiac wall thickness and cIMT.