The Early Origins of Cardiovascular Disease : the Consequence of Growth Restriction During Foetal Life and Infancy on Cardiovascular Structure and Function in Adulthood

Small body size at birth, slow weight gain during infancy and increase in body mass index after 2 years are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome. There is a large gap in our understanding of how early growth affects the cardiovascular system. Possible mechanisms include alterations in body composition, in cardiac structure, in vascular function, in renal function and epigenetic processes.

The Objective is to determine how size at birth and growth during infancy and childhood affect: body composition, cardiac structure and function, vascular and endothelial function, renal function, metabolic status and transcriptional and epigenetic characteristics.