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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
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Birth weight moderates the association between obesity and mortality rate
Gregory Pavela1, Nengjun Yi1, Luis Mestre2
1School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham.
Annals of Epidemiology
|April 4, 2023
Summary
Obesity
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Human Biology
Background:
- The association between obesity and mortality rate (MR) is complex and varies across populations.
- Sociodemographic factors and early life conditions may influence this relationship.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether parental body mass index (BMI) and birth weight moderate the association between adult BMI and mortality.
- To test the hypothesis that early life factors modify the obesity-mortality link.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 1958 National Child Development Study, a longitudinal cohort of 18,059 individuals.
- Employed generalized additive proportional hazards models to assess moderation effects of birth weight and parental BMI on the BMI-MR association.
Main Results:
- Birth weight and maternal BMI significantly moderated the association between adult BMI and MR.
- Higher birth weight weakened the BMI-MR link, while higher maternal BMI strengthened it.
- Individuals with low birth weight or born to mothers with higher BMI faced increased MR at BMI > 25.
Conclusions:
- The relationship between obesity and mortality is significantly modified by birth weight and maternal BMI.
- These findings highlight the importance of considering early life factors in understanding obesity-related health outcomes.
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