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Published on: February 2, 2017

Birth weight as a predictor of type 2 diabetes mellitus: the U-shaped curve

D J Pettitt1, L Jovanovic

  • 1Sansum Medical Research Institute, 2219 Bath Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, USA. dpettitt@sansum.org

Current Diabetes Reports
|May 24, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Birth weight and stature influence type 2 diabetes risk differently across populations. Environmental factors, both in utero and postnatally, likely explain these varied associations with gestational diabetes.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive health
  • Metabolic disorders
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Birth weight is increasingly recognized as a potential predictor for type 2 diabetes mellitus.
  • Existing research shows conflicting associations between birth size and diabetes risk in different populations.
  • Gestational diabetes prevalence and its relationship with birth characteristics vary significantly across ethnic groups.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the complex and often disparate associations between birth weight, stature, and diabetes risk.
  • To investigate potential environmental influences (in utero and postnatal) contributing to these variations.
  • To examine if a U-shaped curve model explains the relationship between birth characteristics and diabetes in diverse populations.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent epidemiological findings on birth weight and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
  • Analysis of population-specific data, including Pima Indians and California Latina women.
  • Comparative assessment of associations between birth size/stature and gestational diabetes prevalence/glucose concentrations.

Main Results:

  • Some populations exhibit an inverse relationship between birth size and diabetes.
  • Pima Indians show a U-shaped association, with both high and low birth weights linked to higher diabetes rates.
  • California Latina women demonstrate a positive association between stature and glucose concentration in gestational diabetes.

Conclusions:

  • Disparate findings on birth weight and stature as diabetes predictors suggest population-specific environmental influences.
  • Environmental factors during gestation and early life may modulate the impact of birth characteristics on diabetes risk.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms behind these population-level variations.

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