Infant macronutrient composition is associated with differences in cardiovascular structures and function in childhood

Early-life nutrition may influence cardiovascular development. Not much is known about the associations between dietarycomposition and cardiovascular risk factors in childhood. We examined the associations of infant macronutrient intakewith cardiovascular structures and function in 2882 children participating in a prospective, population-based cohort study. Information on macronutrient intake at the age of 14 mo was obtained from food-frequency questionnaires completed by aparent. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), fractional shortening, and leftcardiac structures (left atrial diameter, aortic root diameter, and left ventricular mass) were measured at the age of 6 y. Linear regression analyses were performed by using energy-adjusted macronutrient intakes, adjusted for maternal, child, and other dietary factors. Higher total fat intake was associated with higher carotid-femoral PWV (P-trend = 0.03), whereashigher intakes of total carbohydrate and mono-and disaccharides were associated with lower carotid-femoral PWV. Noconsistent associations were observed for macronutrient intake with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fractional shortening, and aortic root diameter. Higher intakes of total, saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturatedfat were associated with lower left atrial diameter (all P-trend <0.01), and higher total carbohydrate and mono-anddisaccharide intakes were associated with higher left atrial diameter (P-trend ≤ 0.01 and 0.02, respectively). Furthermore, the third tertile of mono-and disaccharide intake was associated with a higher left ventricular mass (difference: 1.01 g;95% CI: 0.18, 1.85 g; P = 0.02). Dietary macronutrient composition in infancy may lead to developmental differences incardiovascular structures and function in childhood. Further studies are needed to investigate whether these differenceshave consequences for the risk of future cardiovascular disease.

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