Birthweight, body-mass index in middle age, and incident coronary heart disease
Abstract
Several studies have shown a relation between fetal development, as shown by birthweight, and later coronary heart disease. This study investigated whether this relation is predominantly the consequence of early life exposures, or can best be explained in terms of an interaction between influences in early life and in adulthood. This prospective study in Caerphilly, South Wales, included 1258 men, aged 45-59 at initial screening, who were able to provide birthweight data. These men are from an initial cohort of 2512 men, from whom information has been obtained in a series of examinations since 1979 on health-related behaviours, incidence of coronary heart disease, and risk factors. The main outcome measure was fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease during 10 years of follow-up. Higher birthweight was related to lower risk of coronary heart disease during the follow-up period: coronary heart disease occurred in 46 (11.6%) men in the lowest birthweight tertile, 44 (12.0%) of those in the middle tertile, and 38 (9.1%) of those in the highest tertile (p = 0.03). Stratification of the cohort by body-mass index (BMI) revealed a significant interaction such that the inverse association between birthweight and risk of coronary hear...Continue Reading
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