Preterm birth and parental and pregnancy related factors in association with physical activity and fitness in adolescence and young adulthood

• Main Author: Tikanmäki, M. (Marjaana)
• Other Authors: Kajantie, E. (Eero), Tammelin, T. (Tuija), Vääräsmäki, M. (Marja)
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Oulun yliopisto 2018
• Subjects: accelerometer; cardiorespiratory fitness; gestational diabetes; maternal hypertensive disorder during pregnancy; maternal smoking; muscular fitness; parental body mass index; physical activity; physical fitness; premature infant; preterm birth; ennenaikainen syntymä; fyysinen kunto; keskonen; kestävyyskunto; kiihtyvyysanturi; kohonnut verenpaine raskaudenaikana; lihaskunto; liikunta-aktiivisuus; raskausdiabetes; vanhempien painoindeksi; äidin tupakointi; Northern Finland
• Online Access: http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526219233

Abstract A low level of physical activity and poor physical fitness are important risk factors of chronic non-communicable diseases and all-cause mortality. Much of the risk of these diseases originates in fetal life. The associations of early-life determinants with physical activity and fitness later in life are as yet not well studied. The aim of this work was to investigate early-life factors as predictors of physical activity and fitness in adolescence and young adulthood. We assessed a wide range of parental and pregnancy-related factors in 16-year-old adolescent participants of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n=7,344), and focused on the long-term consequences of preterm birth in the 23-year-old adult participants of the ESTER study (n=1,161). Prenatal and parental predictors of low physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescence included high gestational age-related birth weight as well as parental overweight or obesity. Also, both short and long gestational lengths were associated with lower physical activity, and maternal gestational diabetes mellitus and smoking during pregnancy were associated with lower cardiorespiratory fitness. Young adults born before 34 weeks of gestation reported substantially less leisure-time physical activity than those born at term, although this was not detected by accelerometer measurement. Those born preterm had lower muscular fitness, as individuals born before 37 weeks were able to perform fewer modified push-ups, and those born before 34 weeks had lower handgrip strength, but no difference was observed in cardiorespiratory fitness. Based on questionnaire data, young adults born before 34 weeks perceived themselves to be less fit than their term-born peers. Most individuals exposed to preterm birth or maternal gestational disorders are relatively healthy when reaching adulthood. However, their lower levels of physical activity and physical fitness compared with their peers born at term may contribute to a higher risk of chronic non-communicable ...