Clinical and molecular evidence of accelerated ageing following very preterm birth

Background The mechanisms responsible for the associations between very preterm birth and a higher risk of poor cardiovascular and metabolic health in adult life are unknown. Methods Here, we compare the clinical and molecular phenotypes of healthy, normal-weight young adults (18-27 years), born very preterm (<33 weeks gestational age (GA)) and at full-term (37-42 weeks GA). Outcomes included whole-body MRI, hepatic and muscle H-1 MRS, blood pressure measurements and telomere length. Results We recruited 156 volunteers, 69 preterm (45 women; 24 men) and 87 born at full-term (45 women; 42 men). Preterm individuals had a significantly altered blood pressure profile, including higher systolic blood pressure (SBP mmHg: preterm men 133.4 +/- 10.1, term men 23.0 +/- 6.9; preterm women 124.3 +/- 7.1, term women 118.4 +/- 8.0, p < 0.01 for all). Furthermore, preterm men had fewer long telomeres (145-48.5 kb: preterm men 14.1 +/- 0.9%, term men 17.8 +/- 1.1%, p < 0.05; 48.5-8.6 kb: preterm men 28.2 +/- 2.6, term men 37.0 +/- 2.4%, p < 0.001) and a higher proportion of shorter telomeres (4.2-1.3 kb: preterm men 40.4 +/- 3.5%, term men 29.9 +/- 3.2%, p < 0.01). Conclusion Our data indicate that healthy young adults born very preterm manifest clinical and molecular evidence of accelerated ageing.