Evaluation of aortic pulse wave velocity in newborns according to maternal factors, demographic and clinical characteristics

As a measure of arterial stiffness, pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a reliable predictor of coronary heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular mortality in adults, and increased PWV indicates stiffer arteries. Among children, increased PWV has been described in obesity, diabetes mellitus, and heart transplant recipients. Although data are conflicting, some perinatal factors affect arterial stiffness in later life. Adolescents with a history of preterm birth have reported an increase in brachial-radial PWV. Increased PWV has also been reported in children born small for gestational age or whose mothers had consumed alcohol during pregnancy. Few studies are available on PWV in neonates and this is an area that still needs to be clarified. A total of 67 newborns aged 12-29 days were included in our study, of which 15 newborn of hypertensive mothers, 26 newborn of diabetic mothers and 26 of the control group. The mothers of 5 babies in the diabetic mother-newborn group had both diabetes and hypertension diagnoses. In our study, cfPWV was used as a marker of arterial stiffness, and measurements were made by echocardiography using the same device at similar times of the day. In conclusion, the cfPWV value of the babies included in our study ranged between 3.16 m/s and 8.41 m/s, and the mean cfPWV was found to be 5.27±1.33 m/s. The cfPWV value of newborn of diabetic mothers was found to be significantly higher than both newborn of hypertensive mothers and the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the babies of hypertensive mothers and the control group. No significant difference was found in terms of cfPWV values between the babies of mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus who had blood sugar regulation with diet and those whose blood sugar regulation was provided with insulin. According to the results of the multivariate linear regression analysis, the factors predicting the cfPWV value were increased maternal age and maternal diabetes. Maternal BMI, number of pregnancies, method of delivery, birth weight, maternal hemoglobin amount, and pregnancy with IVF do not affect cfPWV. Few studies are available in the area of arterial stiffness in neonates. In our study, higher cfPWV values were found in newborn of diabetic mothers, and there is a need for more studies with long follow-up on the effects of this elevation in older ages.