School and language performance in children born with low birth weight.

Objectives: To identify the impact of birth weight on the development of metalinguistic skills and performance in reading, writing, and arithmetic in students aged 6 to 10 years, enrolled from the 1st to the 4th grade of Elementary School in public schools of the metropolitan region of São Paulo.

Methods: The concurrent cohort included 315 students. Birth weight was the exposure variable, and the outcomes were performance in receptive and expressive language, oral metalinguistic skills, and performance in writing, arithmetic, and reading.

Leptin and adiponectin concentrations in infants with low birth weight: relationship with maternal health and postnatal growth.

Health in pregnancy and infancy can affect the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases. We aimed to describe leptin and adiponectin concentrations in low birth weight (LBW) infants and identify possible associations with maternal nutritional status, adequacy for gestational age, nutritional recovery, and current dietary intake. A cross-sectional study with LBW infants (9-12 months) including maternal background and pre-pregnancy nutritional condition was performed.

Body Mass Index and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents with High Birth Weight.

Background/aims: This study aimed to identify a possible association among high birth weight with overweight/obesity, high arterial blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance in children and adolescents.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with 719 children and adolescents (6-12 years) stratified according to birth weight (low birth weight [LBW] <2,500 g, adequate birth weight [ABW] 2,500-3,999 g, and high birth weight [HBW] ≥4,000 g). Data collected were anthropometric data, arterial blood pressure levels, lipid profile, and insulin resistance (fasting glucose and insulin, used to calculate homeostatic model assessment-IR).

Does low birth weight affect the presence of cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight and obese children?

Unlabelled: Recent findings suggest that low-birth-weight children with current obesity are more likely to have higher systolic blood pressure levels and impaired β-cell function than those who are obese with normal birth weight. It seems possible, however, that concurrent low birth weight with excess weight gain can exacerbate other risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of birth weight on the lipid/apolipoprotein profile, visfatin levels, and insulin parameters in overweight/obese children.

Association of ACE gene insertion/deletion polymorphism with birth weight, blood pressure levels, and ACE activity in healthy children.

Background: The human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene contains a polymorphism consisting of either an insertion (I) or a deletion (D) of a 287 bp Alu repetitive sequence in intron 16. The potential role of ACE polymorphism in the risk of developing hypertension or other cardiovascular disorders has not been determined in relation to birth weight (BW).

Methods: The ACE genotype and plasma ACE activity were determined in 167 children.

Blood pressure levels in childhood: probing the relative importance of birth weight and current size.

Several studies have reported data supporting the idea that an impaired intrauterine environment that deprives the fetus of optimal nutrient delivery results in the predisposition of the fetus to experience cardiovascular and metabolic dysfunction in later life. However, contradictory data still exist. Our purpose was to investigate the effects of both birth weight and weight gain on the risk for high blood pressure levels in 6- to 10-year-old children.