Prenatal Exposure To Famine Is Associated With Adult Hypertension Is Independent Of Hypertension Genes

Background and aims: Fetal exposure to famine has thought been associated with adult blood pressure and hypertension.However,it has never been studied whether hypertension genes can affect the relationship between prenatal exposure to famine and adult hypertension or not ? Our purpose on the one hand is to study the relationship between exposure to famine during fetal life at She and adult,and on the other hand is to figure out if they are independent of the hypertension susceptibility genes.Methods:The object of the study is from the cross-sectional study among She ethnic minority in Ningde City of China in 2009.A total of 536 participants whose fetal life exposure to Chinese famine and unexposed to famine during 1959 to 1961 were included in a cross-sectional study.Resting systolic blood pressure,socio-demographics,anthropometrics and laboratory measurements were conducted during the survey,Gene risk scores were constructed.Multiple linear regressions and the binary logistic models were applied to study the relationship between prenatal exposure to famine and blood pressure as well as the risk of hypertension,and at the same time to see if it will be connected with the individual carried hypertension susceptibility gene.Results: Analysis of the whole sample revealed that systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure and risk of hypertension are significantly higher in the fetal-exposed cohort than in the unexposed for both adjusted and unadjusted models [(adjusted SBP mean difference 5.260 mm Hg,SE:1.635,P=0.001),(adjusted DBP mean difference 2.233 mm Hg,SE: 0.968,P=0.022),(adjusted odds ratio was 1.535,95%CI: 1.024 to 2.301,P=0.038).While male and female were separately analyzed,Results showed that in female,SBP is significantly higher in the fetal exposed than in the unexposed cohort(adjusted SBP mean difference 6.412 mm Hg,SE: 1.948,p=0.001);however,there was no difference in DBP between exposed and unexposed cohort after adjustment for confounders.Fetal famine exposed cohort had higher risk of hypertension than unexposed(adjusted odds ratio was 1.956,95%CI: 1.144 to 3.345 P=0.014).Nonetheless,,among male SBP,DBP and risk of hypertension were not significant associated with prenatal exposure to famine with or without adjustment for confounding factors.Stratified by gene risk scores,in male and female,the risk of hypertension of prenatal exposure to famine with low,medium and high gene risk scores groups were compared to non-exposed cohort with high gene risk score group by binary logistic regressions.Only female fetal exposure to famine with medium and high gene risk scores groups were higher risk of hypertension.Conclusions: In conclusion prenatal exposure to famine was associated with hypertension independent of hypertension susceptibility among Chinese She ethnic minority.However,only women prenatal exposure to famine are risk of hypertension in adult.