Early life body mass trajectories and mortality in older age: findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

Abstract Background. Overweight and obesity in childhood have been linked to an increased risk of adult mortality, but evidence is still scarce. Methods. We identified trajectories of body mass index (BMI) development in early life and investigated their mortality risk. Data come from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, in which 4943 individuals, born 1934-1944, had serial measures of weight and height from birth to 11 years extracted from health care records, weight and height data in adulthood, and register-based mortality data for 2000-2010. Results. Three early BMI trajectories (increasing, average, and average-to-low for men and increasing, average, and low-to-high BMI for women) were identified. Women with an increasing or low-to-high BMI (BMI lower in early childhood, later exceeded average) trajectory had an increased risk of all-cause mortality compared to those with an average BMI trajectory (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.07-2.23; and HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.04-2.37, respectively). Similar associations were observed for cancer mortality. Among men, BMI trajectories were not associated with all-cause mortality, but those with average-to-low BMI (BMI first similar then dropped below average) had an increased risk of cancer mortality. Conclusions. An increasing BMI in early life may shorten the lifespan of maturing cohorts as they age, particularly among women

Infant motor development and cognitive performance in early old age: the Helsinki Birth Cohort study

Motor development and cognitive development in childhood have been found to be fundamentally interrelated, but less is known about the association extending over the life course. The aim of this study was to examine the association between early motor development and cognitive performance in early old age. From men and women belonging to the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, who were born between 1934 and 1944 and resided in Finland in 1971, 1279 participated in cognitive performance tests (CogState®, version 3.0.5) between 2001 and 2006 at an average age of 64.2 years (SD 3.0). Of these, age at first walking extracted from child welfare clinic records was available for 398 participants. Longer reaction times in cognitive tasks measuring simple reaction time (SRT), choice reaction time (CRT), working memory (WM), divided attention (DA), and associated learning (AL) indicated poorer cognitive performance. Adjustment was made for sex, age at testing, father’s occupational status and own highest attained education, and occupation in adulthood. Average age of learning to walk was 12.2 months (SD 2.1). After adjusting for covariates, earlier attainment of learning to walk was associated with shorter reaction times in cognitive performance tasks (SRT 10.32 % per month, 95 % CI 0.48–21.12, p?=?0.039; CRT 14.17 % per month, 95 % CI 3.75–25.63, p?=?0.007; WM 15.14 % per month, 95 % CI 4.95–26.32, p?=?0.003). People who learned to walk earlier had better cognitive performance in early old age. The earlier attainment of motor skills may track over to early old age and possibly reflect greater cognitive reserve in older age

Prenatal and childhood growth and physical performance in old age - findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

Health in adulthood is in part a consequence of development and growth taking place during sensitive periods in early life. It has not been explored previously whether early growth is associated with physical performance in old age from a life course perspective taking into account health-related behavior, biological risk factors, and early life experiences. At a mean age of 71 years, physical performance was assessed using the Senior Fitness Test (SFT) in 1078 individuals belonging to the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. We used multiple linear regression analysis to assess the association between the SFT physical fitness scores and individual life course measurements. Several adult characteristics were associated with physical performance including socioeconomic status, lifestyle factors, and adult anthropometry. Higher birth weight and length were associated with better physical performance, even after adjusting for potential confounders (all p values <0.05). The strongest individual association between life course measurements and physical performance in old age was found for adult body fat percentage. However, prenatal growth was independently associated with physical performance seven decades later. These findings suggest that physical performance in old age is at least partly programmed in early life

A blunted diurnal cortisol response in the lower educated does not explain educational differences in coronary heart disease: Findings from the AGES-Reykjavik Study

Lower educational attainment generally is a strong predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD). The underlying mechanisms of this effect are, however, less clear. One hypothesis is that stress related to limitations imposed by lower socioeconomic status elicits changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning, which, in turn, increases risk of CHD. In a large cohort study, we examined whether educational attainment was related to risk of fatal and non-fatal CHD and the extent to which salivary cortisol mediated this relation independent of potential confounders, including lifestyles. Data came from 3723 participants aged 66 through 96 from the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility (AGES) - Reykjavik Study. Between 2002 and 2006, data were collected using questionnaires and examinations including morning and evening salivary samples. Hospital admission records and cause of death registries (ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes) were available until December 2009. Linear regression and Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed. Even after adjustment for potential confounders, including lifestyle, persons with lower educational attainment showed a blunted cortisol response and also greater risk of incident CHD. However, our data did not support the role of cortisol as a mediator in the association between education and CHD in an older sample (192)

Infant and childhood growth and frailty in old age: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

BackgroundEvidence from life course studies highlights the importance of infant and childhood growth as risk factors for adulthood chronic diseases.MethodsIn this sub-study of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, we studied 1078 individuals who had both information on body size from birth to 12 years of age and who were assessed for frailty according to the Fried criteria at the mean age of 71 years.ResultsGreater BMI gain between 2 and 11 years in boys was associated with frailty in old age (age-adjusted RRR 2.36, 95% CI 1.21, 4.63). No similar associations were observed in girls.ConclusionsMen who were frail in old age experienced accelerated BMI gain in childhood compared with those men who were not frail. This was not observed in women, which suggests that the patterns of early growth predisposing to frailty may vary by sex

A blunted diurnal cortisol response in the lower educated does not explain educational differences in coronary heart disease: Findings from the AGES-Reykjavik Study

Lower educational attainment generally is a strong predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD). The underlying mechanisms of this effect are, however, less clear. One hypothesis is that stress related to limitations imposed by lower socioeconomic status elicits changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning, which, in turn, increases risk of CHD. In a large cohort study, we examined whether educational attainment was related to risk of fatal and non-fatal CHD and the extent to which salivary cortisol mediated this relation independent of potential confounders, including lifestyles. Data came from 3723 participants aged 66 through 96 from the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility (AGES) Reykjavik Study. Between 2002 and 2006, data were collected using questionnaires and examinations including morning and evening salivary samples. Hospital admission records and cause of death registries (ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes) were available until December 2009. Linear regression and Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed. Even after adjustment for potential confounders, including lifestyle, persons with lower educational attainment showed a blunted cortisol response and also greater risk of incident CHD. However, our data did not support the role of cortisol as a mediator in the association between education and CHD in an older sample (192). (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Intellectual ability in young adulthood as an antecedent of physical functioning in older age

Objectives: low cognitive ability is associated with subsequent functional disability. Whether this association extends across adult life has been little studied. The aim of this study was to examine the association between intellectual ability in young adulthood and physical functioning during a 10-year follow-up in older age.Methods: three hundred and sixty persons of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (HBCS) male members, born between 1934 and 1944 and residing in Finland in 1971, took part in The Finnish Defence Forces Basic Intellectual Ability Test during the first 2 weeks of their military service training between 1952 and 1972. Their physical functioning was assessed twice using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire at average ages of 61 and 71 years. A longitudinal path model linking Intellectual Ability Test score to the physical functioning assessments was used to explore the effect of intellectual ability in young adulthood on physical functioning in older age.Results: after adjustments for age at measurement, childhood socioeconomic status and adult BMI (kg/m2), better intellectual ability total and arithmetic and verbal reasoning subtest scores in young adulthood predicted better physical functioning at age 61 years (P values <0.021). Intellectual ability total and arithmetic and verbal reasoning subtest scores in young adulthood had indirect effects on physical functioning at age 71 years (P values <0.022) through better physical functioning at age 61 years. Adjustment for main chronic diseases did not change the results materially.Conclusion: better early-life intellectual ability helps in maintaining better physical functioning in older age