Influences of perinatal conditions on adult body size and intellectual performance: a register-based cohort study

Martha Gunn Eide

doi:10.5324/nje.v15i1.224

Abstract

Highlights

In perinatal epidemiological research, mortality has been a central outcome
We observed an incremental increase in mean adult height by increasing birth weight, which is in agreement with previous studies.[48,49,50,51]
Our results confirmed that adult weight increased by birth weight; 48,51-53 not for birth weights below 2500 g, which comprise a high proportion of preterm births

Summary

Introduction

Mortality has been a central outcome. Compared to later periods in life, perinatal mortality has been, and still is, considerable. Numerous epidemiologic studies on early origins of adult disease have focused on morbidity among people in middle age or older. The description of eligible births in the cohort was unclear, implying a possible selection bias.[49,60,72,85] The Swedish studies included larger samples, but suffered from inadequate control of confounding by SES when evaluating the association between birth size and intelligence.[59,63,74] Further, despite the relatively large sample sizes, the number of preterm births was relatively low.[51] Except from a study including less than 500 conscripts,[91] no large Norwegian study addressing perinatal risk factors and health in early adulthood has been published. The objectives of the two papers referred to in this article were to examine birth length, birth weight, and gestational age as predictors of adult height and weight, and to evaluate the effects of breech birth on adult intellectual performance

Methods

Results

Conclusion