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The surface area of the placenta and hypertension in the offspring in later life

The surface area of the placenta and hypertension in the offspring in later life
The surface area of the placenta and hypertension in the offspring in later life
Hypertension is more common among people who had low birthweight. Birthweight depends on the mother’s body size and on the growth of the placenta. We studied a group of 2003 subjects, of whom 644 were being treated for hypertension. They were born during 1934-44 in a hospital that kept detailed records of maternal and placental size. Hypertension was associated with reduced placental weight and surface area. These associations were strongest in the offspring of mothers with below average height or low socioeconomic status. In people whose mothers had below average height (160 cm) the prevalence of hypertension fell from 38% if the placental area was 200 cm2 or less to 21% if the area was more than 320 cm2 (p=0.0007). In the offspring of tall, middle class mothers, who were likely to have been the best nourished, hypertension was predicted by large placental weight in relation to birthweight. The odds ratio rose from 1.0 if the ratio of placental weight to birthweight was 0.17 or less to 1.9 (95% confidence interval 0.8 to 5.0) if the ratio was more than 0.21 (p for trend =0.03). We conclude that the effects of placental area on hypertension depend on the mother’s nutritional state. Poor maternal nutrition may compound the adverse effects of small placental size. In better-nourished mothers the placental surface may expand to compensate for fetal undernutrition. Growth along the minor axis of the surface may be more nutritionally sensitive than growth along the major axis.
placental area, compensatory expansion, hypertension
0214-6282
525-530
Barker, David J.
1c926291-c5bd-4f53-8827-6ae435fa97ea
Thornberg, Kent L.
410cde6d-b63c-47d6-afc9-302ed26a398a
Osmond, Clive
2677bf85-494f-4a78-adf8-580e1b8acb81
Kajantie, Eero
d68d55b6-6df1-4195-a914-44c738a6db93
Eriksson, Johan G.
eb96b1c5-af07-4a52-8a73-7541451d32cd
Barker, David J.
1c926291-c5bd-4f53-8827-6ae435fa97ea
Thornberg, Kent L.
410cde6d-b63c-47d6-afc9-302ed26a398a
Osmond, Clive
2677bf85-494f-4a78-adf8-580e1b8acb81
Kajantie, Eero
d68d55b6-6df1-4195-a914-44c738a6db93
Eriksson, Johan G.
eb96b1c5-af07-4a52-8a73-7541451d32cd

Barker, David J., Thornberg, Kent L., Osmond, Clive, Kajantie, Eero and Eriksson, Johan G. (2010) The surface area of the placenta and hypertension in the offspring in later life. International Journal of Developmental Biology, 54 (2-3), 525-530. (doi:10.1387/ijdb.082760db).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Hypertension is more common among people who had low birthweight. Birthweight depends on the mother’s body size and on the growth of the placenta. We studied a group of 2003 subjects, of whom 644 were being treated for hypertension. They were born during 1934-44 in a hospital that kept detailed records of maternal and placental size. Hypertension was associated with reduced placental weight and surface area. These associations were strongest in the offspring of mothers with below average height or low socioeconomic status. In people whose mothers had below average height (160 cm) the prevalence of hypertension fell from 38% if the placental area was 200 cm2 or less to 21% if the area was more than 320 cm2 (p=0.0007). In the offspring of tall, middle class mothers, who were likely to have been the best nourished, hypertension was predicted by large placental weight in relation to birthweight. The odds ratio rose from 1.0 if the ratio of placental weight to birthweight was 0.17 or less to 1.9 (95% confidence interval 0.8 to 5.0) if the ratio was more than 0.21 (p for trend =0.03). We conclude that the effects of placental area on hypertension depend on the mother’s nutritional state. Poor maternal nutrition may compound the adverse effects of small placental size. In better-nourished mothers the placental surface may expand to compensate for fetal undernutrition. Growth along the minor axis of the surface may be more nutritionally sensitive than growth along the major axis.

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More information

Published date: 2010
Keywords: placental area, compensatory expansion, hypertension

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 79890
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/79890
ISSN: 0214-6282
PURE UUID: fc863b66-f0a1-41b1-8301-397ae245d9cd
ORCID for Clive Osmond: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9054-4655

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Date deposited: 22 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:38

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Contributors

Author: David J. Barker
Author: Kent L. Thornberg
Author: Clive Osmond ORCID iD
Author: Eero Kajantie
Author: Johan G. Eriksson

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