AI Article Synopsis
- The Barker Hypothesis suggests that a poor environment in the womb can lead to restricted fetal growth and a higher risk of diseases related to metabolism and heart health later in life.
- A new statistical model using genomic SEM software was developed to analyze the genetic influences on birthweight and cardiometabolic traits by separating contributions from mothers and their offspring.
- Research from the Norwegian HUNT study, involving data from over 15,000 mother-child pairs, provided evidence of maternal effects on blood pressure and genetic overlap between birthweight and glucose levels, indicating strong genetic ties between these traits and offering new insights beyond environmental factors.
Article Abstract
The Barker Hypothesis posits that adverse intrauterine environments result in fetal growth restriction and increased risk of cardiometabolic disease through developmental compensations. Here we introduce a new statistical model using the genomic SEM software that is capable of simultaneously partitioning the genetic covariation between birthweight and cardiometabolic traits into maternally mediated and offspring mediated contributions. We model the covariance between birthweight and later life outcomes, such as blood pressure, non-fasting glucose, blood lipids and body mass index in the Norwegian HUNT study, consisting of 15,261 mother-eldest offspring pairs with genetic and phenotypic data. Application of this model showed some evidence for maternally mediated effects of systolic blood pressure on offspring birthweight, and pleiotropy between birthweight and non-fasting glucose mediated through the offspring genome. This underscores the importance of genetic links between birthweight and cardiometabolic phenotypes and offer alternative explanations to environmentally based hypotheses for the phenotypic correlation between these variables.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9823066 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10519-022-10116-9 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Early life factors and later metabolic syndrome in European children and adolescents.
Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis
November 2024
Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany.
Background And Aims: Early life factors have been suggested to be associated with later cardiometabolic risk in children, adolescents and adults. Our study aimed to investigate the associations between early life factors and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in children and adolescents.
Methods And Results: Our analysis sample comprised of 8852 children aged 2-9 years at baseline that participated in up to three examination waves of the pan-European IDEFICS/I.
Body Composition in Adults Born at Very Low Birthweight-A Sibling Study.
Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol
January 2025
Population Health Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
Background: Individuals born preterm at very low birthweight (VLBW, < 1500 g) tend to attain a smaller adult body size compared with term-born peers but less is known regarding specific body composition characteristics.
Objectives: We aimed to assess whether adults born at VLBW have less beneficial body composition characteristics, potentially mediating the association between VLBW birth and cardiometabolic disease. Sibling controls were used to account for the potential influence of shared genetic and/or lifestyle factors.
Associations of body composition at birth and accretion from 0 to 5 years with kidney function and volume at the 10-year follow-up: the Ethiopian Infant Anthropometry and Body Composition birth cohort.
Am J Clin Nutr
December 2024
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Background: Fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) in early life are associated with later obesity and cardiometabolic disease.
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the associations of FM and FFM at birth and conditional FM and FFM accretion from 0 to 5 y with kidney outcomes at the 10-y follow-up.
Methods: The Ethiopian Infant Anthropometry and Body Composition birth cohort included term infants born in Jimma town, with a birth weight ≥1500 g, and having no congenital malformations.
Breastfeeding supports growth in small for gestational age infants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Acta Paediatr
February 2025
Faculty of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Aim: Small for gestational age is defined as birthweight <10th percentile on standardised age and sex-specific growth charts. Rapid catch-up growth seen post-natal is associated with adiposity and cardiometabolic syndromes later in life. Breastfeeding has positive effects on growth in premature and low-birthweight infants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPostnatal Growth Trajectories and Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Middle Age: A Cohort Study.
Pediatr Pulmonol
November 2024
Research Unit, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science & Research, New Delhi, India.
Study Objectives: Rapid growth in childhood predisposes to obesity and cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood. While obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is bidirectionally linked to obesity, its developmental origins are sparsely studied. We examined associations between postnatal growth and the risk of OSA in adulthood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!