Birthweight, childhood social class, and change in adult blood pressure in the 1946 British birth cohort

Background The negative effect of birthweight on systolic blood pressure has been suggested to be initiated in utero and amplified with age. We aimed to investigate this hypothesis. Methods A sample of 3634 people from a birth cohort study of men and women born in Britain in 1946 were included in analyses. Cohort members have been contacted regularly since birth, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured at ages 36, 43, and 53...