A study in this week's BMJ reports a strong association between infant and childhood growth and the development of coronary heart disease in later life. These findings suggest that improvements in early growth could lead to substantial reductions in the incidence of the disease.
The research team examined the infant and childhood growth of 357 men who were either admitted to hospital with coronary heart disease or who died of the disease. All belonged to a group of 4,630 men born in the Helsinki University Hospital during 1934-44, whose growth was measured serially from birth to age 12 years.
They found that, irrespective of body size at birth, low weight gain in infancy was associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease.
In addition, after age 1 year, rapid weight gain was associated with further increase in risk, but only among boys who were thin at birth. The adverse effects of this association are apparent at age 3 years in these boys, add the authors.
Despite some inevitable limitations, these findings are consistent with other studies and add to the evidence that protection of early growth is a key area in strategies for the prevention of coronary heart disease.
Further benefit will come from preventing rapid weight gain after infancy in boys who were thin at birth, conclude the authors.
(Reference: Early growth and coronary heart disease in later life: longitudinal study, BMJ Volume 322, pp 949-953.)
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BMJ
[Contact: J.G. Eriksson, D.J.P. Barker, Emma Wilkinson]
20-Apr-2001
