Birth weight and blood cholesterol level: a study in adolescents and systematic review.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between birth weight and blood total cholesterol (TC) and to compare its strength with that of the relationship between current body mass index and TC. METHODS: 1). Cross-sectional study of adolescents, with retrospective ascertainment of birth weight from birth records or parental recall; 2). systematic review of studies examining the relations between birth weight and cholesterol at all ages. PARTICIPANTS: 1). 1532 individuals (92% white, 55% male) in 10 British towns; 2). 28 studies with 32 observations showing the change in TC per 1 kg increase in birth weight-6 in infancy, 14 in adolescents, 12 in adults. RESULTS: In the cross-sectional study, there was a weak inverse relation between birth weight and TC level (-.061 mmol/L fall in TC per kg increase in birth weight, 95% confidence interval -.131 to.008 mmol/L per kg) which was little affected by adjustment for current body size. The difference in TC corresponding to an interquartile range increase in birth weight (-.03 mmol/L) was approximately a quarter of that for an equivalent increase in body mass index (.11 mmol/L). In the systematic review, an inverse association between birth weight and TC of a similar size to that in the cross-sectional study was observed (-.048 mmol/L per kg, 95% confidence interval -.078 to -.018 mmol/L per kg) similar in strength at all ages. CONCLUSION: The relation of fetal nutrition to TC appears to be weak and is probably of limited public health importance when compared with the effects of childhood obesity.[1]References
- Birth weight and blood cholesterol level: a study in adolescents and systematic review. Owen, C.G., Whincup, P.H., Odoki, K., Gilg, J.A., Cook, D.G. Pediatrics (2003) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg
