Dutch women with a low birth weight have an increased risk of myocardial infarction later in life: a case control study

BACKGROUND: To investigate whether low birth weight increases the risk of myocardial infarction later in life in women. METHODS: Nationwide population-based case-control study. Patients and controls: 152 patients with a first myocardial infarction before the age of 50 years in the Netherlands. 568 control women who had not had a myocardial infarction stratified for age, calendar year of the index event, and area of residence. RESULTS: Birth weight in the patient group was significantly lower than in control women (3214 vs. 3370 gram, mean difference -156.3 gram (95%CI -9.5 to -303.1). The odds ratio for myocardial infarction, associated with a birth weight lower than 3000 gram (20(th )percentile in controls) compared to higher than 3000 gram was 1.7 (95%CI 1.1–2.7), while the odds ratio for myocardial infarction for children with a low birth weight (< 2000 g) compared to a birth weight ≥ 2000 g was 2.4 (95%CI 1.0 – 5.8). Both figures did not change after adjustment for putative confounders (age, education level, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, and family history of cardiovascular disease). CONCLUSIONS: Low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction before age of 50 in Dutch women

Catch-Up Growth Following Fetal Growth Restriction Promotes Rapid Restoration of Fat Mass but Without Metabolic Consequences at One Year of Age

BACKGROUND: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) followed by rapid weight gain during early life has been suggested to be the initial sequence promoting central adiposity and insulin resistance. However, the link between fetal and early postnatal growth and the associated anthropometric and metabolic changes have been poorly studied. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Over the first year of post-natal life, changes in body mass index, skinfold thickness and hormonal concentrations were prospectively monitored in 94 infants in whom the fetal growth velocity had previously been measured using a repeated standardized procedure of ultrasound fetal measurements. 45 infants, thinner at birth, had experienced previous FGR (FGR+) regardless of birth weight. Growth pattern in the first four months of life was characterized by greater change in BMI z-score in FGR+ (+1.26+/-1.2 vs +0.58 +/-1.17 SD in FGR-) resulting in the restoration of BMI and of fat mass to values similar to FGR-, independently of caloric intakes. Growth velocity after 4 months was similar and BMI z-score and fat mass remained similar at 12 months of age. At both time-points, fetal growth velocity was an independent predictor of fat mass in FGR+. At one year, fasting insulin levels were not different but leptin was significantly higher in the FGR+ (4.43+/-1.41 vs 2.63+/-1 ng/ml in FGR-). CONCLUSION: Early catch-up growth is related to the fetal growth pattern itself, irrespective of birth weight, and is associated with higher insulin sensitivity and lower leptin levels after birth. Catch-up growth promotes the restoration of body size and fat stores without detrimental consequences at one year of age on body composition or metabolic profile. The higher leptin concentration at one year may reflect a positive energy balance in children who previously faced fetal growth restriction

Latin American Consensus: Children Born Small for Gestational Age

72-87Cuatrimestra

Replication of IGF2-INS-TH(*)5 haplotype effect on obesity in older men and study of related phenotypes

Interindividual variation of the IGF2-INS-TH region influences risk of a variety of diseases and complex traits. Previous studies identified a haplotype (designated IGF2-INS-TH(*)5 and tagged by allele A of IGF2 ApaI, allele 9 of TH01 and class I alleles of INS VNTR) associated with low body mass index (BMI) in a cohort of UK men. We aimed here both to study whether previous findings relating (*)5 with weight are replicated in a different cohort of men (East Hertfordshire) characterised in more phenotypic detail and to test the effect of this haplotype on related subphenotypes. The PHASE program was used to identify (*)5 and not(*)5 haplotypes. A total of 490 haplotypes were derived from 131 men and 114 women, the frequency of (*)5 being around 9%. Specific tests of (*)5 haplotype (vs not(*)5 haplotypes) conducted included Student's t-test and multiple regression analyses. We observed replication of weight effect for the (*)5 haplotype in men: significant associations with lower BMI (-1.81 kg/m(2), P=0.009), lower waist circumference (-6.3 cm, P=0.001) and lower waist-hip ratio (-5%, P&lt;0.001). This haplotype also marks nearly two-fold lower 120 min insulin (P=0.004) as well as low baseline insulin (-11.02 pmol/l, P=0.043) and low 30 min insulin (-64.44 pmol/l, P=0.072) in a glucose tolerance test. No association between (*)5 and these traits was found in women. Our results, taken together with other data on IGFII levels and TH activity, point to the importance of (*)5 as an integrated polygenic haplotype relevant to obesity and insulin response to glucose in men