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 1 H 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.

中文翻译：

---

极早产后加速衰老的临床和分子证据

背景 极早产与成年后心血管和代谢健康不良风险较高之间存在关联的机制尚不清楚。方法 在这里，我们比较了健康、体重正常的年轻成人（18-27 岁）、极早产（<33 周胎龄 (GA)）和足月（37-42 周 GA）的临床和分子表型. 结果包括全身 MRI、肝脏和肌肉 1 H MRS、血压测量和端粒长度。结果 我们招募了 156 名志愿者，其中 69 名早产（45 名女性；24 名男性）和 87 名足月出生（45 名女性；42 名男性）。早产个体的血压曲线显着改变，包括更高的收缩压（SBP mmHg：早产男性 133.4 ± 10.1，足月男性 23.0 ± 6.9；早产女性 124.3 ± 7.1，足月女性 118.4 ± 8.0，所有 p < 0.01）。此外，早产男性的长端粒较少（145-48.5 kb：早产男性 14.1 ± 0.9%，足月男性 17.8 ± 1.1%，p < 0.05；48.5-8.6 kb：早产男性 28.2 ± 2.6，足月男性 37.0 ± 2.4% 0.001）和较高比例的较短端粒（4.2-1.3 kb：早产男性 40.4 ± 3.5%，足月男性 29.9 ± 3.2%，p < 0.01）。结论 我们的数据表明，非常早产的健康年轻人表现出加速衰老的临床和分子证据。