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Infant growth and hostility in adult life

Infant growth and hostility in adult life
Infant growth and hostility in adult life
OBJECTIVE: Hostility may confer a risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, but why is uncertain. A common origin in suboptimal fetal and early postnatal life may lie beneath. This study tested whether prenatal and postnatal growth predicts hostility in adult life. METHODS: Women (n = 939) and men (n = 740) born in Helsinki, Finland, from 1934 through 1944 filled out the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale at an average age of 63.4 years. Growth was estimated from birth, child welfare clinic, and school records. Adult body size was measured in a clinic. RESULTS: Men and women who had higher levels of hostility in adulthood were born lighter and thinner, showed slower weight gain from birth to 6 months of age, were lighter throughout childhood (standardized regression coefficients (beta) 0.06; 95% CIs, 0.02-0.14; p values <.01). They were also shorter from 6 months until the age of 1 year (beta values <-0.09; 95% CIs, -0.14 to -0.03; p values <.003), and tended to be shorter in adulthood (beta = -0.05; 95% CI, -0.09 to 0.00; p = .06). The latter effects were largely attributable to slower growth in stature from birth to 6 months (beta = -0.08; 95% CI, -0.14 to -0.02; p = .005). The associations were not explained by major confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that slow prenatal and infant growth is linked with hostility in adult life.
cardiovascular, growth, hostility, infancy, prenatal, programming
0033-3174
306-313
Räikkönen, Katri
32cd0aa3-6dc2-40a3-b1a0-245ccedd41c3
Pesonen, Anu-Katriina
8cc53fef-f713-425e-bd01-8f1c53842351
Heinonen, Kati
46bb57d0-1c33-4cdd-badf-d38a5fc61200
Lahti, Jari
230457a3-300b-4faf-810e-e2a07f57fcee
Kajantie, Eero
d68d55b6-6df1-4195-a914-44c738a6db93
Forsén, Tom
71e12224-d830-4202-9b7c-ee8fe47a4d54
Osmond, Clive
2677bf85-494f-4a78-adf8-580e1b8acb81
Barker, David J.P.
5c773838-b094-4ac1-999b-b5869717f243
Eriksson, Johan G.
eb96b1c5-af07-4a52-8a73-7541451d32cd
Räikkönen, Katri
32cd0aa3-6dc2-40a3-b1a0-245ccedd41c3
Pesonen, Anu-Katriina
8cc53fef-f713-425e-bd01-8f1c53842351
Heinonen, Kati
46bb57d0-1c33-4cdd-badf-d38a5fc61200
Lahti, Jari
230457a3-300b-4faf-810e-e2a07f57fcee
Kajantie, Eero
d68d55b6-6df1-4195-a914-44c738a6db93
Forsén, Tom
71e12224-d830-4202-9b7c-ee8fe47a4d54
Osmond, Clive
2677bf85-494f-4a78-adf8-580e1b8acb81
Barker, David J.P.
5c773838-b094-4ac1-999b-b5869717f243
Eriksson, Johan G.
eb96b1c5-af07-4a52-8a73-7541451d32cd

Räikkönen, Katri, Pesonen, Anu-Katriina, Heinonen, Kati, Lahti, Jari, Kajantie, Eero, Forsén, Tom, Osmond, Clive, Barker, David J.P. and Eriksson, Johan G. (2008) Infant growth and hostility in adult life. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70 (3), 306-313. (doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181651638).

Record type: Article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Hostility may confer a risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, but why is uncertain. A common origin in suboptimal fetal and early postnatal life may lie beneath. This study tested whether prenatal and postnatal growth predicts hostility in adult life. METHODS: Women (n = 939) and men (n = 740) born in Helsinki, Finland, from 1934 through 1944 filled out the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale at an average age of 63.4 years. Growth was estimated from birth, child welfare clinic, and school records. Adult body size was measured in a clinic. RESULTS: Men and women who had higher levels of hostility in adulthood were born lighter and thinner, showed slower weight gain from birth to 6 months of age, were lighter throughout childhood (standardized regression coefficients (beta) 0.06; 95% CIs, 0.02-0.14; p values <.01). They were also shorter from 6 months until the age of 1 year (beta values <-0.09; 95% CIs, -0.14 to -0.03; p values <.003), and tended to be shorter in adulthood (beta = -0.05; 95% CI, -0.09 to 0.00; p = .06). The latter effects were largely attributable to slower growth in stature from birth to 6 months (beta = -0.08; 95% CI, -0.14 to -0.02; p = .005). The associations were not explained by major confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that slow prenatal and infant growth is linked with hostility in adult life.

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More information

Published date: April 2008
Keywords: cardiovascular, growth, hostility, infancy, prenatal, programming

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 61464
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/61464
ISSN: 0033-3174
PURE UUID: 85d77fd6-5f10-4363-82de-0696b948f10a
ORCID for Clive Osmond: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9054-4655

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Date deposited: 09 Oct 2008
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:50

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Contributors

Author: Katri Räikkönen
Author: Anu-Katriina Pesonen
Author: Kati Heinonen
Author: Jari Lahti
Author: Eero Kajantie
Author: Tom Forsén
Author: Clive Osmond ORCID iD
Author: David J.P. Barker
Author: Johan G. Eriksson

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