Association of Newborn Telomere Length With Blood Pressure in Childhood

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Adult telomere length (TL) is a biological marker of aging associated with vascular health. TL at birth is associated with later life TL and may contain early biological information of later life cardiovascular health and disease. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether newborn TL is associated with early life blood pressure differences in childhood. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cohort study was part of the ENVIRONAGE (Environmental Influence on Aging in Early Life) study, a birth cohort of Belgian mother-child pairs with recruitment at birth and a median follow-up of 4.5 years conducted between October 2014 and July 2021. Participants included for analysis provided full data for evaluation at follow-up visit. Data analysis was conducted between August and September 2021. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Cord blood and placental average relative TL were measured at birth using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were evaluated at follow-up. High childhood blood pressure (standardized for child age, sex, and height) was defined following the 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. Multivariable adjusted linear and logistic regression models were used to associate newborn TL and blood pressure indicators in childhood. RESULTS This study included 485 newborn children (52.8% girls) with a mean (SD) age of 4.6 (0.4) years at the follow-up visit. Newborn TL was associated with lower blood pressure in childhood. A 1-IQR increase in cord blood TL was associated with a-1.54 mm Hg (95% CI,-2.36 to-0.72 mm Hg) lower diastolic blood pressure and-1.18 mm Hg (95% CI,-1.89 to-0.46 mm Hg) lower MAP. No association was observed with systolic blood pressure. Furthermore, a 1-IQR increase in cord blood TL was associated with lower odds of having high blood pressure at the age of 4 to 6 years (adjusted OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.98). In placenta, a 1-IQR increase in TL was associated with a-0.96 mm Hg (95% CI,-1.72 to-0.21 mm Hg) lower diastolic,-0.88 mm Hg (95% CI,-1.54 to-0.22 mm Hg) lower MAP, and a lower adjusted OR of 0.69 (95% CI, 0.52 to 0.92) for having a high blood pressure in childhood. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this prospective birth cohort study, variation in early life blood pressure at school-age was associated with TL at birth. Cardiovascular health may to some extent be programmed at birth, and these results suggest that TL entails a biological mechanism in this programming. Question Is newborn telomere length (TL) associated with blood pressure in childhood? Findings In this birth cohort study including 485 newborns, participants with a longer birth TL had a significantly lower diastolic and mean arterial pressure at the age of 4 to 6 years. Furthermore, longer newborn TL was significantly associated with lower odds of having high childhood blood pressure. Meaning These results suggest that TL at birth associates with early life vascular health and that newborn TL may be a programmed molecular mediator containing genetic and prenatal environmental exposure information contributing to vascular health later in life.