Birth weight and lipids in a national birth cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between birth weight and lipid levels in a 53-year-old birth cohort from England, Scotland, and Wales.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Lipid levels were obtained from nonfasting blood samples, collected at the most recent follow-up of the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, for 2559 men and women. Regression models indicated that in men, a 1-kg increase in birth weight was associated with a 0.13-mmol/L decrease (95% CI: -0.23, -0.01) in total cholesterol at age 53 years (P=0.03), compared with a 0.02-mmol/L (95% CI: -0.11, 0.15) increase in women and a 0.06-mmol/L (95% CI: -0.15, 0.02) decrease in men and women combined. Adjustment for current height and body mass index (BMI) in men reduced the size of the relationship, with height being responsible for the reduction. Adult height and height at 2 and 4 years were significantly associated with total cholesterol in men and in men and women combined. The negative association between total cholesterol and birth weight was strongest among men with high BMI at age 53 years (P=0.03 for test for interaction between birth weight and BMI). There was no significant association between birth weight and LDL or HDL cholesterol in men or women before adjustment, but there was a positive association with HDL in women. When both sexes were analyzed together, an association was seen after adjustment for current body size. No confounding of these findings with social class was observed in this study.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the small effect of birth weight on lipid levels at age 53 years has a limited public health impact. The findings suggest that childhood height growth may be more important than prenatal growth.