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Updated: Dec 13, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Birthweight predicts adult cardiovascular disorders: Population based cross sectional survey
Issa Salmi1,2, Suad Hannawi3
1The Medicine Department, The Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
Insights
Lower birth weight is linked to increased risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its related conditions like angina and stroke. Lifelong monitoring of individuals with low birth weight is recommended to manage these risks.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Cardiovascular Medicine
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality, disproportionately affecting lower socioeconomic groups and specific geographic areas.
- Birth weight is emerging as a significant predictor of adult cardiovascular health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between birth weight and the prevalence of angina, coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke, and overall cardiovascular events (CVS) in an Australian adult population.
- To determine if birth weight is an independent risk factor for developing specific cardiovascular conditions later in life.
Main Methods:
- The study utilized data from the Australian Diab study (AusDiab), a cross-sectional survey of adults aged 25 years and older.
- Information on birth weight and various lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol, physical activity, education, income) was collected via interviewer-administered questionnaires.
Main Results:
- Individuals in the lowest birth weight quintiles exhibited significantly higher odds of developing angina, CAD, stroke, and CVS compared to referent groups with higher birth weights.
- Both males and females with low birth weight (LBW) showed increased likelihoods for these cardiovascular outcomes, with some associations reaching statistical significance (e.g., stroke in males and females with LBW).
Conclusions:
- A negative relationship exists between birth weight and the incidence of angina, CAD, stroke, and CVS.
- The findings suggest a need for targeted public health policies, including lifelong surveillance for individuals born with low birth weight, to mitigate their elevated cardiovascular risk.
Background:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the primary cause of death in the developed-countries and mostly in the poorer areas of the country, and in lower income-groups.
Hypothesis:
Birthweight predicts adult development of angina, coronary heart disease, stroke, and combination of all CVD.
Methods:
The AusDiab is a cross-sectional study of Australians aged 25 years or over. Data on age, sex, previous-CVD, smoking-status, alcohol-intake, time-spent on watching television and physical-activity, total house-income, dwelling-type and education-level were collected by interviewer- administered-questionnaires.
Results:
Four thousand five hundred and two had birthweights (mean (SD) of 3.4(0.7) kg). Females in the lowest birthweight-quintile were at least 1.23, 1.48, 1.65, and 1.23 times more likely to have angina, CAD, stroke, and CVS compared to the referent group ≥3.72 kg with P = .123, .09, .099, and 0.176, respectively. Similarly, males in the lowest-birthweight-quintile were 1.23, 1.30, 1.39, and 1.26 times more likely to have angina, CAD, stroke, and CVS compared to the referent-group ≥4.05 kg with P = .231, .087, .102, and .123, respectively. Females with low birth weight (LBW) were at least 1.39, 1.40, 2.30, and 1.47 times more likely to have angina, CAD, stroke and CVS compared to those ≥2.5 kg with P = .06, .19, .03, and .13, respectively. Similarly, males with LBW were 1.76, 1.48, 3.34, and 1.70 times more likely to have angina, CAD, stroke, and CVS compared to those ≥2.5 kg with P = .14, .13, .03, and .08, respectively.
Conclusion:
there was a negative relationship between birth weight and angina, CAD, stroke, and the overall CVS. It would be prudent, to adopt policies of intensified whole of life surveillance of lower-birthweight people, anticipating this risk.
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