Growth and endothelial function in the first 2 years of life.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the inverse association between infant growth and endothelial function at 6 months would persist to 24 months and that accelerated growth would lead to an increased percent body fat, which would, in turn, impact negatively on endothelial function.

Study Design: In a prospective observational study, 104 healthy term newborns underwent anthropometry and measurements of vascular vasodilation at 0, 6, 12, and 24 months. We recorded maximum vasodilation in response to acetylcholine (endothelium-dependent) and nitroprusside (endothelium-independent) by use of laser-Doppler vascular perfusion monitoring of the forearm skin vasculature.

Can neonatal sepsis be predicted in late preterm premature rupture of membranes? Development of a prediction model.

Objective: Women with late preterm premature rupture of membranes (PROM) have an increased risk that their child will develop neonatal sepsis. We evaluated whether neonatal sepsis can be predicted from antepartum parameters in these women.

Study Design: We used multivariable logistic regression to develop a prediction model.

Economic analysis comparing induction of labor and expectant management in women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes between 34 and 37 weeks (PPROMEXIL trial).

Objective: To compare the costs of induction of labor and expectant management in women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM).

Design: Economic analysis based on a randomized clinical trial.

Setting: Obstetric departments of eight academic and 52 non-academic hospitals in the Netherlands.

Genetic, maternal and placental factors in the association between birth weight and physical fitness: a longitudinal twin study.

Background: Adult cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength are related to all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Both are possibly related to birth weight, but it is unclear what the importance is of genetic, maternal and placental factors in these associations.

Design: Peak oxygen uptake and measures of strength, flexibility and balance were obtained yearly during adolescence (10-18 years) in 114 twin pairs in the Leuven Longitudinal Twin Study.

Genetic and environmental factors in associations between infant growth and adult cardiometabolic risk profile in twins.

Background: Accelerated infant growth is associated with an altered, mostly adverse adult cardiometabolic risk profile. The importance of genetic and environmental factors to these associations is unclear.

Objective: The objective was to examine the importance of genetic and environmental factors in the associations between infant growth and adult cardiometabolic risk factors (anthropometric characteristics, lipids, insulin sensitivity, leptin, blood pressure, and fibrinogen) in twins.

Influence of growth during infancy on endothelium-dependent vasodilatation at the age of 6 months.

Low birth weight and accelerated infant growth are associated with cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Endothelial dysfunction is regarded as a precursor of atherosclerosis and is also related to infant growth. We aimed to examine whether an association between infant growth and endothelial function is already present during discrete periods of growth during the first 6 months of life in healthy term infants.

Management of late-preterm premature rupture of membranes: the PPROMEXIL-2 trial.

Objective: The evidence for the management of near term prelabor rupture of membranes is poor. From January 2007 until September 2009, we performed the PPROM Expectant Management versus Induction of Labor (PPROMEXIL) trial. In this trial, we showed that in women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM), the incidence of neonatal sepsis was low, and the induction of labor (IoL) did not reduce this risk.

Induction of labor versus expectant management in women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes between 34 and 37 weeks: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: At present, there is insufficient evidence to guide appropriate management of women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) near term.

Methods And Findings: We conducted an open-label randomized controlled trial in 60 hospitals in The Netherlands, which included non-laboring women with >24 h of PPROM between 34(+0) and 37(+0) wk of gestation. Participants were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to induction of labor (IoL) or expectant management (EM) using block randomization.

Endothelial vasodilatation in newborns is related to body size and maternal hypertension.

Objective: The fetal response to an adverse intrauterine environment - reflected in low birth weight - is thought to cause an increased risk for adult hypertension. A possible mechanism by which fetal adaptive responses contribute to hypertension is an adverse effect on endothelial function. Identifying individuals with endothelial dysfunction as early as possible may assist in understanding the inverse association between birth weight and hypertension.

Determinants of infant growth in four age windows: a twin study.

Objective: To identify determinants of growth during infancy.

Study Design: The sample included 424 twin pairs from the East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey. Multilevel regression analysis was performed and intrapair growth correlations were calculated.