Birthweight and blood pressure in five European birth cohort studies: an investigation of confounding factors
Background: It has been suggested that the association between birthweight and blood pressure has been overstated as a result of publication bias and, within studies, a lack of adjustment for potentially important maternal and socioeconomic confounding factors and 'overadjustment' for curr...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
2006
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/44495/ |
id |
ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:44495 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:44495 2023-05-15T16:11:00+02:00 Birthweight and blood pressure in five European birth cohort studies: an investigation of confounding factors Hardy, R Sovio, U King, VJ Skidmore, PML Helmsdal, G Olsen, SF Emmett, PM Wadsworth, MEJ Jarvelin, MR EURO-BLCS Study Grp 2006-02 http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/44495/ unknown OXFORD UNIV PRESS EUR J PUBLIC HEALTH , 16 (1) 21 - 30. (2006) birthweight blood pressure cohort studies confounding FETAL ORIGINS HYPOTHESIS GLUCOSE-TOLERANCE CHILDHOOD GROWTH RISK-FACTORS BODY-MASS IN-UTERO CHILDREN PREGNANCY SIZE SMOKING Article 2006 ftucl 2016-01-15T00:53:08Z Background: It has been suggested that the association between birthweight and blood pressure has been overstated as a result of publication bias and, within studies, a lack of adjustment for potentially important maternal and socioeconomic confounding factors and 'overadjustment' for current body size. This study investigates the impact of potential confounding variables on the birthweight-blood pressure association in birth cohort studies from different time periods and geographical locations in Europe. Methods: Data from five European birth cohort studies (from Finland, the UK, and the Faroe Islands) taking part in the European Birth-Lifecourse-Studies (EURO-BLCS) project were analysed. Birthweight was measured at birth in all cohorts and confounding variable information was collected prospectively at subsequent follow-ups in all cohorts. Regression models were used to assess the unadjusted association between birthweight and blood pressure and then to assess the impact of potential maternal and socioeconomic confounding variables and adjustment for later body size. Analyses were carried out in the same way across all five cohorts. Results: Birthweight was consistently negatively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) across all cohorts. Gestational age and possibly maternal pre-pregnancy weight, but not socioeconomic status, may be important confounding factors of the relationship between birthweight and SBP. The size of the birthweight-SBP association in adulthood may be larger than in childhood before adjustment for current body size, although a cohort effect cannot be ruled out. Conclusion: This study highlights the value of future cross-cohort comparisons in the investigation of the foetal origins of adult disease. Article in Journal/Newspaper Faroe Islands University College London: UCL Discovery Faroe Islands |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University College London: UCL Discovery |
op_collection_id |
ftucl |
language |
unknown |
topic |
birthweight blood pressure cohort studies confounding FETAL ORIGINS HYPOTHESIS GLUCOSE-TOLERANCE CHILDHOOD GROWTH RISK-FACTORS BODY-MASS IN-UTERO CHILDREN PREGNANCY SIZE SMOKING |
spellingShingle |
birthweight blood pressure cohort studies confounding FETAL ORIGINS HYPOTHESIS GLUCOSE-TOLERANCE CHILDHOOD GROWTH RISK-FACTORS BODY-MASS IN-UTERO CHILDREN PREGNANCY SIZE SMOKING Hardy, R Sovio, U King, VJ Skidmore, PML Helmsdal, G Olsen, SF Emmett, PM Wadsworth, MEJ Jarvelin, MR EURO-BLCS Study Grp Birthweight and blood pressure in five European birth cohort studies: an investigation of confounding factors |
topic_facet |
birthweight blood pressure cohort studies confounding FETAL ORIGINS HYPOTHESIS GLUCOSE-TOLERANCE CHILDHOOD GROWTH RISK-FACTORS BODY-MASS IN-UTERO CHILDREN PREGNANCY SIZE SMOKING |
description |
Background: It has been suggested that the association between birthweight and blood pressure has been overstated as a result of publication bias and, within studies, a lack of adjustment for potentially important maternal and socioeconomic confounding factors and 'overadjustment' for current body size. This study investigates the impact of potential confounding variables on the birthweight-blood pressure association in birth cohort studies from different time periods and geographical locations in Europe. Methods: Data from five European birth cohort studies (from Finland, the UK, and the Faroe Islands) taking part in the European Birth-Lifecourse-Studies (EURO-BLCS) project were analysed. Birthweight was measured at birth in all cohorts and confounding variable information was collected prospectively at subsequent follow-ups in all cohorts. Regression models were used to assess the unadjusted association between birthweight and blood pressure and then to assess the impact of potential maternal and socioeconomic confounding variables and adjustment for later body size. Analyses were carried out in the same way across all five cohorts. Results: Birthweight was consistently negatively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) across all cohorts. Gestational age and possibly maternal pre-pregnancy weight, but not socioeconomic status, may be important confounding factors of the relationship between birthweight and SBP. The size of the birthweight-SBP association in adulthood may be larger than in childhood before adjustment for current body size, although a cohort effect cannot be ruled out. Conclusion: This study highlights the value of future cross-cohort comparisons in the investigation of the foetal origins of adult disease. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hardy, R Sovio, U King, VJ Skidmore, PML Helmsdal, G Olsen, SF Emmett, PM Wadsworth, MEJ Jarvelin, MR EURO-BLCS Study Grp |
author_facet |
Hardy, R Sovio, U King, VJ Skidmore, PML Helmsdal, G Olsen, SF Emmett, PM Wadsworth, MEJ Jarvelin, MR EURO-BLCS Study Grp |
author_sort |
Hardy, R |
title |
Birthweight and blood pressure in five European birth cohort studies: an investigation of confounding factors |
title_short |
Birthweight and blood pressure in five European birth cohort studies: an investigation of confounding factors |
title_full |
Birthweight and blood pressure in five European birth cohort studies: an investigation of confounding factors |
title_fullStr |
Birthweight and blood pressure in five European birth cohort studies: an investigation of confounding factors |
title_full_unstemmed |
Birthweight and blood pressure in five European birth cohort studies: an investigation of confounding factors |
title_sort |
birthweight and blood pressure in five european birth cohort studies: an investigation of confounding factors |
publisher |
OXFORD UNIV PRESS |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/44495/ |
geographic |
Faroe Islands |
geographic_facet |
Faroe Islands |
genre |
Faroe Islands |
genre_facet |
Faroe Islands |
op_source |
EUR J PUBLIC HEALTH , 16 (1) 21 - 30. (2006) |
_version_ |
1765996121072599040 |