Perinatal Factors Associated With Standardized Blood Pressure Percentiles for Children Aged 6 to 12 Years: The BOSHI Study.

Elevated childhood blood pressure (BP) is associated with adulthood cardiovascular mortality. However, evidence of an association between maternal and perinatal factors and standardized childhood BP percentiles in Japan remains limited. In this study, we examined this association by using data from the BOSHI study, which included children's home BP measurements. Among 175 mother-offspring pairs, the mean maternal age and children's birth weight were 32.4 years and 3031 g, respectively; the median age of the children at follow-up was 7 years; and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy occurred in 43 mothers. Multivariable analyses showed that higher birth weight was associated with lower diastolic BP percentiles (-0.87 percentile per 100-g increase; p = 0.03). Given previous evidence linking elevated childhood BP to subsequent cardiovascular risk later in life, our findings warrant further investigation in diverse populations.