Abstract
This study examines the genetic influence of β-adrenergic receptor gene polymorphisms (β2-AR Arg16Gly and β3-AR Trp64Arg) on the relationship of birthweight to longitudinal changes of blood pressure (BP) from childhood to adulthood in 224 black and 515 white adults, aged 21–47 years, enrolled in the Bogalusa Heart Study. Blacks showed significantly lower birthweight and frequencies of β2-AR Gly16 and β3-AR Trp64 alleles and higher BP levels and age-related trends than whites. In multivariable regression analyses using race-adjusted BP and birthweight, low birthweight was associated with greater increase in age-related trend of systolic BP (standardized regression coefficient β = −0.09, P = .002) and diastolic BP (β = −0.07, P = .037) in the combined sample of blacks and whites, adjusting for the first BP measurement in childhood, sex, age, and gestational age. Adjustment for the current body mass index strengthened the birthweight-BP association. Importantly, the strength of the association, measured as regression coefficients, was modulated by the combination of β2-AR and β3-AR genotypes for systolic (P = .042 for interaction) and diastolic BP age-related trend (P = .039 for interaction), with blacks and whites showing a similar trend in the interaction. These findings indicate that the intrauterine programming of BP regulation later in life depends on β-AR genotypes.
Highlights
IntroductionThe relationship between low birthweight and elevated blood pressure (BP) levels later in life and the mechanisms of fetal programming have been extensively studied since the fetal origins hypothesis was proposed [1,2,3,4]
Low birthweight is an indicator of intrauterine growth retardation
As part of the Bogalusa Heart Study, a long-term biracial community-based epidemiologic study of the early natural history of cardiovascular disease beginning in childhood since 1973 [21], the present study examines the modulating effect of β2-AR Arg16Gly and β3-AR Trp64Arg polymorphisms on the association between birthweight and Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology longitudinal changes of blood pressure (BP) from childhood to adulthood in black and white asymptomatic younger adults enrolled in the Bogalusa Heart Study
Summary
The relationship between low birthweight and elevated blood pressure (BP) levels later in life and the mechanisms of fetal programming have been extensively studied since the fetal origins hypothesis was proposed [1,2,3,4]. Polymorphisms of the β-AR genes have been found to be associated with multiple cardiovascular risk variables, including hemodynamic factors such as heart rate, vasodilation, and BP [16]. The β-AR genes are associated with preterm birth and modulate the relationship between birthweight and insulin resistance in later life [17,18,19,20]. Whether genetic variations in the β-AR genes modulate the influence of birthweight on BP is not known, especially for BP longitudinal changes
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