Placental epigenetic age and adolescent blood pressure: the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn cohort

This study examines the association between placental epigenetic gestational age (eGA) and adolescent blood pressure. For every 1-week acceleration in placental eGA, adolescent males born extremely preterm had a 3.6 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure (95% CI 0.9, 6.4; p = 0.01) after adjusting for confounders. The same association was not seen in females or the overall cohort. Our sex-specific finding supports the hypothesis that differences in placental eGA are associated with childhood health. Placental eGA estimation as a tool for identifying children who are at risk for developing elevated blood pressure should be further evaluated in other cohorts.