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Birth weight and weight at 1 year are independent determinants of bone mass in the seventh decade: the Hertfordshire Cohort Study

Birth weight and weight at 1 year are independent determinants of bone mass in the seventh decade: the Hertfordshire Cohort Study
Birth weight and weight at 1 year are independent determinants of bone mass in the seventh decade: the Hertfordshire Cohort Study
Several studies have shown relationships between growth in early life and adult bone mass; in this article, we evaluate the relative contributions of pre- and postnatal factors to bone mass in the seventh decade. A total of 498 eight men and 468 women who were born in Hertfordshire during the period 1931–1939 and still living there were recruited. Detailed birth records were available. Participants attended a clinic where they completed a detailed health questionnaire, before performance of anthropometric measurements and bone densitometry of the proximal femur and lumbar spine (Hologic QDR 4500). Birth weight was associated with bone mineral content in both men (proximal femur: r = 0.16, p = 0.0003; lumbar spine: r = 0.10, p = 0.03) and women (proximal femur: r = 0.16, p = 0.0008; lumbar spine: r = 0.11, p = 0.03); relationships with bone mineral density were weaker and were significant at the proximal femur in men only (p = 0.03). Relationships between weight at 1 y and bone mineral content were even stronger (proximal femur: men r = 0.22, p < 0.0001; women r = 0.14, p = 0.002). In men, 18% of the variance in proximal femoral bone area was explained by a model that included birth weight, weight at 1 y, and adult weight, with the relative contributions attributed to each being 2.8, 6.8, and 8.2%, respectively. In women, similar modeling produced figures of 6.7, 4.2, and 3.9% (overall variance of 15% in proximal femoral bone area). Hence, weight at each of these three points in the life course is important in the determination of adult bone mass, with greater contributions of earlier growth to bone size and mineral content than to bone mineral density.
0031-3998
582-586
Dennison, Elaine M.
ee647287-edb4-4392-8361-e59fd505b1d1
Syddall, Holly E.
a0181a93-8fc3-4998-a996-7963f0128328
Aihie-Sayer, A.
fb4c2053-6d51-4fc1-9489-c3cb431b0ffb
Gilbody, Helen J.
f78b5dfc-7e86-482e-b9d1-bd23e1372803
Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Dennison, Elaine M.
ee647287-edb4-4392-8361-e59fd505b1d1
Syddall, Holly E.
a0181a93-8fc3-4998-a996-7963f0128328
Aihie-Sayer, A.
fb4c2053-6d51-4fc1-9489-c3cb431b0ffb
Gilbody, Helen J.
f78b5dfc-7e86-482e-b9d1-bd23e1372803
Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6

Dennison, Elaine M., Syddall, Holly E., Aihie-Sayer, A., Gilbody, Helen J. and Cooper, Cyrus (2005) Birth weight and weight at 1 year are independent determinants of bone mass in the seventh decade: the Hertfordshire Cohort Study. Pediatric Research, 57, 582-586. (doi:10.1203/01.PDR.0000155754.67821.CA).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Several studies have shown relationships between growth in early life and adult bone mass; in this article, we evaluate the relative contributions of pre- and postnatal factors to bone mass in the seventh decade. A total of 498 eight men and 468 women who were born in Hertfordshire during the period 1931–1939 and still living there were recruited. Detailed birth records were available. Participants attended a clinic where they completed a detailed health questionnaire, before performance of anthropometric measurements and bone densitometry of the proximal femur and lumbar spine (Hologic QDR 4500). Birth weight was associated with bone mineral content in both men (proximal femur: r = 0.16, p = 0.0003; lumbar spine: r = 0.10, p = 0.03) and women (proximal femur: r = 0.16, p = 0.0008; lumbar spine: r = 0.11, p = 0.03); relationships with bone mineral density were weaker and were significant at the proximal femur in men only (p = 0.03). Relationships between weight at 1 y and bone mineral content were even stronger (proximal femur: men r = 0.22, p < 0.0001; women r = 0.14, p = 0.002). In men, 18% of the variance in proximal femoral bone area was explained by a model that included birth weight, weight at 1 y, and adult weight, with the relative contributions attributed to each being 2.8, 6.8, and 8.2%, respectively. In women, similar modeling produced figures of 6.7, 4.2, and 3.9% (overall variance of 15% in proximal femoral bone area). Hence, weight at each of these three points in the life course is important in the determination of adult bone mass, with greater contributions of earlier growth to bone size and mineral content than to bone mineral density.

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Published date: 2005

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 25411
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/25411
ISSN: 0031-3998
PURE UUID: 41fb27d6-6a65-4a85-9752-89f208afd3c0
ORCID for Elaine M. Dennison: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3048-4961
ORCID for Holly E. Syddall: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0171-0306
ORCID for Cyrus Cooper: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3510-0709

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Date deposited: 07 Apr 2006
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 02:48

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Contributors

Author: A. Aihie-Sayer
Author: Helen J. Gilbody
Author: Cyrus Cooper ORCID iD

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