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Intergenerational studies of human birthweight from the 1958 birth cohort. 1. Evidence for a multigenerational effect
I Emanuel1, H Filakti, E Alberman
1Department of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, Maternal and Child Health Program.
Insights
Grandparents
Area of Science:
- Human developmental biology
- Reproductive health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Birthweight is a critical indicator of infant health and development.
- Understanding factors influencing birthweight is crucial for public health initiatives.
- Previous research has focused primarily on parental factors, with limited exploration of multigenerational effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate potential multigenerational influences on infant birthweight.
- To examine the association between birthweight and characteristics of parents and grandparents.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the British National Child Development Study, a longitudinal study.
- Analyzed socio-biological information on parents, cohort members, and their offspring.
- Employed multiple regression modeling for 1638 firstborns with complete intergenerational data.
Main Results:
- Found significant positive associations between infant birthweight and parental birthweight.
- Observed associations between infant birthweight and maternal grandmother's height and maternal grandfather's social class.
- These associations persisted even after adjusting for maternal weight, smoking, and infant sex/birth order.
Conclusions:
- Results support the hypothesis of multigenerational influences on birthweight.
- Evidence suggests these influences are transmitted through the maternal line.
- Highlights the importance of considering a broader family history in understanding birthweight determinants.
Objective:
To investigate possible multigenerational influences on birthweight.
Design:
Data from the longitudinal study of one week's births in 1958 up to the age of 23 years, the British National Child Development Study, were utilized. These provide socio-biological information on the parents of the cohort, on the cohort members from birth onwards, and on the pregnancies and the birthweight of any babies born to the cohort members.
Main Outcome Measure:
The main outcome was the birthweight of babies born to the cohort members, for whom complete intergenerational data were available for 1638 firstborn. Multiple regression modelling was used to investigate any associations between their birthweight and characteristics of their parents and grandparents.
Results:
Significant positive associations were found between babies' birthweight and parental birthweight but not gestational age. For the babies born to female cohort members additional findings included associations between their birthweight and the height of the maternal grandmother and the social class of the maternal grandfather, even after adjustment for such strong predictors of birthweight as maternal weight, smoking habit in pregnancy and baby's sex and birth order.
Conclusion:
These results thus offer support for a multigenerational influence on birthweight passed through the maternal line.