Griffiths Lucy J, Dezateux Carol, Cole Tim J
MRC Centre of Epidemiology for Child Health, UCL Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London, UK.
Int J Epidemiol. 2007 Feb;36(1):104-7. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyl210. Epub 2006 Sep 19.
Parental weight and height correlate with offspring birthweight and weight gain, suggesting genetic and environmental influences on fetal growth. The differential contributions of the mother's and father's height and weight to birthweight, or weight gain in infancy, remain unclear and were examined using data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.
We calculated z-scores for birthweight and conditional weight gain to age 9 months (weight gain adjusted for birthweight) for 6811 term white singleton infants living with natural parents, using the British 1990 growth reference. We also calculated parental height and weight z-scores. The effects of parental size on birthweight and weight gain were analysed using multivariable regression, with a novel reparameterization to test for differences in effect size between mother and father.
Maternal weight had a far greater influence than paternal weight on birthweight [coefficient for the difference between parents (95% CI): 0.15 (0.100.20)], while parental height contributions were similar [0.03 (-0.02 to 0.07)]. Weights and heights of mothers and fathers contributed equally to infant weight gain [difference coefficients -0.03 (-0.09 to 0.02) and 0.02 (-0.03 to 0.07), respectively].
The influences of parental height and weight on birthweight and infant weight gain are similar for the two parents, with the exception of the influence of weight on birthweight where the mother is much more influential than the father. Parental size associations with infant growth result from a complex combination of genetic and environmental influences. This novel reparameterization of parental anthropometry is applicable to other studies examining parental influences on offspring size and growth across the life course.
父母的体重和身高与子代出生体重及体重增加相关，提示对胎儿生长存在遗传和环境影响。母亲与父亲的身高和体重对出生体重或婴儿期体重增加的不同贡献仍不明确，本研究利用英国千禧队列研究的数据对此进行了探讨。
我们采用英国1990年生长参考标准，为6811名与亲生父母共同生活的足月白人单胎婴儿计算了出生体重的z评分以及9个月龄时的条件性体重增加（根据出生体重调整后的体重增加）。我们还计算了父母的身高和体重z评分。使用多变量回归分析父母体型对出生体重和体重增加的影响，并采用一种新的重新参数化方法来检验母亲和父亲在效应大小上的差异。
母亲体重对出生体重的影响远大于父亲体重[父母差异系数（95%CI）：0.15（0.10至0.20）]，而父母身高的贡献相似[0.03（-0.02至0.07）]。母亲和父亲的体重及身高对婴儿体重增加的贡献相同[差异系数分别为-0.03（-0.09至0.02）和0.02（-0.03至0.07）]。
父母身高和体重对出生体重及婴儿体重增加的影响在父母双方中相似，但体重对出生体重的影响除外，母亲的影响远大于父亲。父母体型与婴儿生长的关联源于遗传和环境影响的复杂组合。这种父母人体测量学的新重新参数化方法适用于其他研究，以检验父母在生命历程中对子代大小和生长的影响。
