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Early life stress and blood pressure levels in late adulthood

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 27, pages 90–94 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Severe stress experienced in early life may have long-term consequences on adult physiological functions. We studied the long-term effects of separation on blood pressure levels in non-obese subjects who were separated temporarily in childhood from their parents during World War II (WWII). The original clinical study cohort consists of people born during 1934–1944 in Helsinki, Finland. This substudy includes 1361 non-obese subjects (body mass index <30 kg m−2). Of these, 192 (14.1%) had been evacuated abroad during WWII. The remaining subjects served as controls. Blood pressure levels and use of blood pressure medication were studied. The separated subjects had significantly higher systolic blood pressure values than the non-separated (148.6+21.5 vs 142.2+19.6 mm Hg, P<0.0001) in adult life. Those subjects separated in early childhood had markedly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure values in adult life compared with the non-separated (154.6 vs 142.5 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.6–14.7; P<0.005 and 90.8 vs 87.7 mm Hg; 95% CI 1.0–7.3; P<0.02, respectively). Systolic blood pressure was also higher in the group separated for a duration of <1 year (151.7 vs 142.2 mm Hg; 95% CI 0.0–12.4; P<0.05) compared with the non-separated. Besides being separated, age at separation and duration of separation also influenced blood pressure levels in adult life. This could be due to early hormonal and metabolic programming, during plastic periods in early life, influencing blood pressure levels in adult life.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Juho Vainio Foundation, Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, Academy of Finland, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Sigrid Juselius Foundation, Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, Jalmari and Rauha Ahokas Foundation, Samfundet Folkhälsan, and Finnish Foundation for Pediatric Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland

    H Alastalo, E Kajantie & J G Eriksson

  2. Department of Public Health, Hjelt Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    H Alastalo

  3. Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    K Räikkönen, A-K Pesonen & K Heinonen

  4. Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    A-K Pesonen & E Kajantie

  5. MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    C Osmond

  6. Chair of Fetal Programming, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    D J P Barker

  7. Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    D J P Barker

  8. Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    J G Eriksson

  9. Unit of General Practice, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    J G Eriksson

  10. Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland

    J G Eriksson

  11. Vaasa Central Hospital, Vaasa, Finland

    J G Eriksson

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  1. H Alastalo
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  2. K Räikkönen
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  4. C Osmond
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  5. D J P Barker
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  6. K Heinonen
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  7. E Kajantie
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  8. J G Eriksson
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Correspondence to J G Eriksson.

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Alastalo, H., Räikkönen, K., Pesonen, AK. et al. Early life stress and blood pressure levels in late adulthood. J Hum Hypertens 27, 90–94 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2012.6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2012.6

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