Department of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Health Services Research, Oslo, Norway.
J Dev Orig Health Dis. 2022 Feb;13(1):83-89. doi: 10.1017/S2040174421000076. Epub 2021 Mar 11.
Low birthweight has been related to an increased risk of adult cardiovascular disease (CVD). Transgenerational studies have been used to investigate likely mechanisms underlying this inverse association. However, previous studies mostly examined the association of offspring birthweight with CVD risk factors among parents. In this study, we investigated the association between offspring birthweight and individual CVD risk factors, an index of CVD risk factors, and education in their parents, aunts/uncles, and aunts'/uncles' partners. Birth data (Medical Birth Registry, Norway (MBRN) (1967-2012)) was linked to CVD risk factor data (the County Study, Age 40 Program, and Cohort Norway (CONOR)) for the parents, aunts/uncles, and their partners. For body mass index (BMI), resting heart rate (RHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and a risk factor index, the associations were examined by linear regression. For smoking and education, they were examined by logistic regression. Low birthweight was associated with an unfavorable risk factor profile in all familial relationships. For each kg increase in birthweight, the mean risk factor index decreased by -0.14 units (-0.15, -0.13) in mothers, -0.11 (-0.12, -0.10) in fathers, and -0.02 (-0.05, -0.00) to -0.07 (-0.09, -0.06) in aunts/uncles and their partners. The association in mothers was stronger than fathers, but it was also stronger in aunts/uncles than their partners. Profound associations between birthweight and CVD risk factors in extended family members were observed that go beyond the expected genetic similarities in pedigrees, suggesting that mechanisms like environmental factors, assortative mating, and genetic nurturing may explain these associations.
低出生体重与成年人心血管疾病 (CVD) 风险增加有关。 世代间研究被用于研究这种反比关系背后可能的机制。 然而，以前的研究大多检查了子女出生体重与父母 CVD 危险因素之间的关联。 在这项研究中，我们调查了子女出生体重与父母、姑/叔及其配偶的个体 CVD 危险因素、CVD 危险因素指数和教育之间的关系。 出生数据（挪威医学出生登记处（MBRN）（1967-2012 年））与 CVD 危险因素数据（县研究、40 岁计划和挪威队列（CONOR））相关联。 对于体重指数 (BMI)、静息心率 (RHR)、收缩压 (SBP)、总胆固醇 (TC)、甘油三酯 (TG) 和危险因素指数，通过线性回归进行了关联分析。 对于吸烟和教育，通过逻辑回归进行了检查。 在所有的家族关系中，低出生体重与不良的危险因素谱相关。 出生体重每增加 1kg，母亲的危险因素指数平均降低 -0.14 个单位（-0.15，-0.13），父亲的危险因素指数降低 -0.11 个单位（-0.12，-0.10），而姑/叔及其配偶的危险因素指数降低 0.02 个单位（-0.05，-0.00）至 -0.07 个单位（-0.09，-0.06）。 母亲的关联强于父亲，但在姑/叔中比在他们的配偶中更强。 在大家庭成员中观察到出生体重与 CVD 危险因素之间存在显著关联，这些关联超出了谱系中预期的遗传相似性，这表明环境因素、相似婚配和遗传养育等机制可能解释了这些关联。
