The Impact of Birth Weight on Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Coronary Heart Disease and Prostate Cancer : Population-based Studies of Men Born in 1913 and Followed up Until Old Age

Sammanfattning: Objectives. To study whether birth weight (BW) was correlated to cardiovascular risk factors, coronary heart disease (CHD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and prostate cancer (PCA) at adult ages, whether a possible relationship depended on mediating factors from birth time, hereditary circumstances, and adult life variables, and what importance possible associations might have for the rate of the complaint in the general population. Material and methods. Population-based cohorts of men born in 1913 and followed up until old age. Risk of outcome was estimated using Cox’s and Poisson regressions. The results were transformed to population attributable risk percentage (PAR%) of the complaint that could be attributed to low or high BW, given causality between exposure and outcome. Results. After adjustment for the influence of covariates, systolic blood pressure at age 50 decreased by 3.7 mmHg per 1000 g increase in BW, the prevalence of antihypertensive treatment decreased by 32%, diabetes by 53%, serum total cholesterol decreased by 0.20 mmol L-1, and being in top quintile of serum cholesterol decreased by 23%. The adjusted risks were somewhat more marked relative to the crude risks. CHD and CVD incidence and mortality were virtually unaffected by BW. In the general population, the risk percentage attributable to a BW ≤3000 g was 18% for diabetes, 2.5% for cholesterol, and ≤1% for antihypertensive treatment and CHD and CVD incidence and mortality. PCA incidence and mortality risk increased by 62% and 82%, respectively, among those whose BW was ≥4250 g compared with those whose BW was 3001-4249 g. The risk percentages attributable to a BW ≥4250 g in the general population for PCA incidence and mortality were 7.8% and 10.8%. Conclusions. Low BW seemed to affect cardiovascular risk factors but not incidence and mortality from CHD and CVD. A high proportion of diabetes on the community level could be attributed to low BW, while the proportional burden of other cardiovascular complaints that could be attributed to low BW was modest. PCA incidence and mortality seemed to be affected by high BW.