Offspring birth weight and parental cardiovascular mortality

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Cardiovascular Epidemiology
• Perinatal Medicine

Background:

• Maternal cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk is elevated with smaller offspring, but paternal risk remains unclear.
• Limited large-scale studies have differentiated maternal and paternal CVD risk based on offspring birth weight within the same population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare the association between offspring birth weight and cardiovascular disease mortality risk in mothers and fathers.
• To determine if parental CVD risk differs based on offspring size.

Main Methods:

• A large cohort study of 1,400,383 primigravida mothers and their spouses in Taiwan (1978-1987).
• Follow-up until 2006, linking birth records with mortality data to calculate hazards ratios (HR) for parental CVD mortality.
• Analysis of offspring birth weight (continuous and categorical) and its association with parental CVD mortality.

Main Results:

• A 1 standard deviation increase in offspring birth weight was associated with reduced CVD mortality HR for mothers (0.89) but not significantly for fathers (0.97).
• Bearing low-birth-weight offspring (<2500 g) showed a stronger association with CVD mortality in mothers (adjusted HR = 1.85) compared to fathers (adjusted HR = 1.13).
• These associations persisted after standardizing birth weight for gestational age, though they were relatively weak.

Conclusions:

• This large cohort study confirms a significantly stronger association between smaller infant birth weight and elevated CVD mortality risk in mothers compared to fathers.
• Women who have delivered lower birth-weight infants represent a key target group for cardiovascular disease prevention strategies.