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Association between birth weight and adult blood pressure in twins: historical cohort study.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:To evaluate the associations in twins between within pair differences in birth weight and subsequent blood pressures as adults thereby removing the impact of potential parental confounding variables. DESIGN:Historical cohort study. SETTING:St Thomas's UK adult twin register, June 1992 to September 1995. PARTICIPANTS:492 pairs of female twins (mean age 54 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Mean within pair differences in adult blood pressure in each of four strata of within pair differences in birth weight (0, 1-500 g, 501-1000 g, >1000 g). Differences in blood pressure were analysed before and after adjustment for potential confounders between adult twins, after exclusion of those twin pairs including at least one twin taking antihypertensive drugs, and by zygosity. RESULTS:Reported mean birth weights of heavier and lighter twins were 2.51 (SD 0.61) v 2.12 (0.59) kg respectively. A graded inverse relation between strata of within pair differences in birth weight and differences in adult blood pressure was apparent, with an adjusted blood pressure range of 8.7/5.1 mm Hg across the four strata (test for trend: systolic, P=0.05; diastolic, P=0.09). After excluding those women taking antihypertensive drugs the significance of the association was similar (systolic, P=0.04; diastolic, P=0.10). When differences in blood pressure were stratified for zygosity similar but non-significant trends were apparent. CONCLUSION:It would seem that birth weight is inversely associated with adult blood pressure and that this association is independent of parental confounding variables probably including, in view of the findings in monozygotic twins, genetic factors. The observed blood pressure differences are likely to result from retarded intrauterine growth due to placental dysfunction rather than inadequate maternal nutrition.

SUBMITTER: Poulter NR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC28278 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Association between birth weight and adult blood pressure in twins: historical cohort study.

Poulter N R NR Chang C L CL MacGregor A J AJ Snieder H H Spector T D TD

BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 19991101 7221

<h4>Objectives</h4>To evaluate the associations in twins between within pair differences in birth weight and subsequent blood pressures as adults thereby removing the impact of potential parental confounding variables.<h4>Design</h4>Historical cohort study.<h4>Setting</h4>St Thomas's UK adult twin register, June 1992 to September 1995.<h4>Participants</h4>492 pairs of female twins (mean age 54 years).<h4>Main outcome measures</h4>Mean within pair differences in adult blood pressure in each of fo ...[more]

PMID: 10567135

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Project description:Purpose: Birth weight has a profound long-term impact on individual's predisposition to various diseases at adulthood-a hypothesis commonly referred to as the fetal origins of adult diseases. However, it is not fully clear to what extent the fetal origins of adult diseases hypothesis holds and it is also not completely known what types of adult diseases are causally affected by birth weight. Materials and methods: Mendelian randomization using multiple genetic instruments associated with birth weight was performed to explore the causal relationship between birth weight and adult diseases. The causal relationship between birth weight and 21 adult diseases as well as 38 other complex traits was examined based on data collected from 37 large-scale genome-wide association studies with up to 340,000 individuals of European ancestry. Causal effects of birth weight were estimated using inverse-variance weighted methods. The identified causal relationships between birth weight and adult diseases were further validated through extensive sensitivity analyses, bias calculation, and simulations. Results: Among the 21 adult diseases, three were identified to be inversely causally affected by birth weight after the Bonferroni correction. The measurement unit of birth weight was defined as its standard deviation (i.e., 488 g), and one unit lower birth weight was causally related to an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), myocardial infarction (MI), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and BMI-adjusted T2D, with the estimated odds ratios of 1.34 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17-1.53], 1.30 (95% CI 1.13-1.51), 1.41 (95% CI 1.15-1.73), and 1.54 (95% CI 1.25-1.89), respectively. All these identified causal associations were robust across various sensitivity analyses that guard against various confounding due to pleiotropy or maternal effects as well as reverse causation. In addition, analysis on 38 additional complex traits did not identify candidate traits that may mediate the causal association between birth weight and CAD/MI/T2D. Conclusions: The results suggest that lower birth weight is causally associated with an increased risk of CAD, MI, and T2D in later life, supporting the fetal origins of adult diseases hypothesis.

Dataset Information

Association between birth weight and adult blood pressure in twins: historical cohort study.

Publications

Association between birth weight and adult blood pressure in twins: historical cohort study.

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