Exercise capacity and cardiac function in adolescents born post-term.
Mrinal MuraliPaul L HofmanJosé G B DerraikWayne S CutfieldTim HornungSilmara GussoPublished in: Scientific reports (2018)
There is some evidence that children born post-term (≥42 weeks of gestation) have metabolic abnormalities that may be associated with an increased risk of adverse health outcomes in adulthood. However, there are no data as to whether adolescents born post-term display alterations in aerobic capacity or cardiovascular function. We studied 48 adolescents (56% males) in Auckland (New Zealand) with a mean age of 14.3 years (SD = 1.7): 25 born post-term and 23 born at term (37-41 weeks of gestation). Assessments included metabolic markers in blood, whole body DXA scans, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, maximal exercise capacity, as well as cardiac MRI scan at rest and during submaximal exercise. Exercise capacity was lower in the post-term than in control participants (44.5 vs 47.8 ml/kgffm/min; p = 0.04). There were no differences in left ventricular volumes at rest and during exercise between groups. The 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring also showed no differences between the two groups. Being born post-term was associated with reduced exercise capacity, but with no observed differences in central cardiac function. We speculate that the reduction in exercise capacity may be due to changes in the peripheral vascular system.
Keyphrases
- gestational age
- blood pressure
- high intensity
- physical activity
- preterm birth
- preterm infants
- low birth weight
- resistance training
- young adults
- left ventricular
- computed tomography
- heart rate
- magnetic resonance imaging
- body composition
- emergency department
- depressive symptoms
- heart failure
- type diabetes
- skeletal muscle
- magnetic resonance
- acute myocardial infarction
- acute coronary syndrome
- blood glucose
- insulin resistance
- machine learning
- postmenopausal women
- bone mineral density
- electronic health record
- left atrial
- cardiac resynchronization therapy