Discussion
obesity, fasting blood glucose
OBESITY, PRETERM BIRTH, GESTATIONAL DIABETES, INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RETARDATION, REGRESSION, ELEVATED BLOOD PRESSURE, PREECLAMPSIA
Although preterm birth rates in developed high-income countries have stagnated or declined over the past 1.5 decades [Regarding blood pressure, SBP as well as DBP were significantly higher in former preterm-born adolescents compared to term-born controls after adjustment for sex, age at examination, BMI, smoking status, physical activity, diet, being SGA, fasting blood glucose and total cholesterol in the multivariate logistic regression model. This finding is corroborated by several meta-analyses, which have also demonstrated an increased risk for elevated blood pressure in the preterm population [Although these differences are small and within normal ranges for this age group, there is evidence that elevated blood pressure levels associated with preterm birth worsen with increasing age [In addition to prenatal factors, such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, obesity, intrauterine growth retardation, which lead to adverse fetal programming, there is evidence that a number of other causes play a role in the development of elevated blood pressure in former preterm infants during the postnatal course [Regarding all other health metrics, we could not identify any impact of preterm birth in our cohort. Altered lipid profiles [