Birth Weight, Adult Obesity and Hypertension Risk

Takeaway

• A study found a non-linear inverse association between low birth weight (<2.88 kg) and the risk of hypertension.
• Furthermore, low birth weight and adult obesity (body mass index [BMI], ≥30 kg/m²) had a multiplicative interaction with respect to the risk of hypertension.

Why this matters

• Findings suggest that birth weight between 3.43 and 3.80 kg could be a potential threshold for reducing the risk of hypertension.

Study design

• The study involved 199,893 participants from the UK Biobank with data on birth weight and without a history of hypertension.
• The dose-response association of birth weight with hypertension was assessed.
• The association between birth weight and adult obesity index was also evaluated.
• Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China and others.

Key results

• The risk of hypertension decreased with an increase in birth weight up to approximately 3.80 kg (P_{non-linearity}=.0004).
• Compared with participants having birth weight of the fourth quintile (3.43-3.80 kg), those having birth weight of the first quintile (<2.88 kg) had an increased risk of hypertension (adjusted HR [aHR], 1.25; 95% CI, 1.18-1.32).
• Compared with participants having birth weight between 3.43 and 3.80 kg and BMI between 18.5 and 25.0 kg/m², those having low birth weight and adult obesity had a substantially higher risk of hypertension (aHR, 3.54; 95% CI, 3.16-3.97; P_interaction<.0001).
• These associations were consistent in the stratified and sensitivity analyses.

Limitations

• Data on early life exposures were self-reported which could lead to recall bias.
• Risk of residual confounding.

This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.