Birth weight and subsequent blood pressure: a meta-analysis.

Summary Hypertension is becoming an important health problem in many countries. The ‘small baby syndrome hypothesis’ suggests that an inverse linear relationship exists between birth weight and later risk of hypertension; however, this relationship is under debate. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the association between birth weight and subsequent blood pressure. Among 78 studies reporting on the association between birth weight and subsequent blood pressure, 20 articles (reporting 27 original studies) were eligible for inclusion. Low birth weight (  4000 g) compared with birth weight less than 4000 g was associated with a decreased risk of hypertension (OR 0.78; 95% CI 0.71, 0.86). When low birth weight (  4000 g) was compared with birth weight less than 4000 g, mean SBP decreased by 2.08 mmHg (95% CI –2.98, –1.17). These findings indicate that there is an inverse linear association between birth weight and later risk of hypertension, and that this association primarily exists between birth weight and SBP.