Birth weight, adult weight, and cardiovascular biomarkers: Evidence from the Cardiovascular Young Finns Study
: Pehkonen Jaakko, Viinikainen Jutta, Kari Jaana T, Böckerman Petri, Lehtimäki Terho, Viikari Jorma, Raitakari Olli
Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
: 2022
Preventive Medicine
: PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
: PREV MED
: 106894
: 154
: 6
: 0091-7435
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106894
: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106894
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/174779654
This study quantifies the causal effect of birth weight on cardiovascular biomarkers in adulthood using the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS). We apply a multivariable Mendelian randomization (MVMR) method that provides a novel approach to improve inference in causal analysis based on a mediation framework. The results show that birth weight is linked to triglyceride levels (beta = 0.294; 95% CI [-0.591, 0.003]) but not to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels (beta = 0.007; 95% CI [-0.168, 0.183]). The total effect of birth weight on triglyceride levels is partly offset by a mediation pathway linking birth weight to adult BMI (beta = 0.111; 95% CI [-0.013, 0.234]). The negative total effect is consistent with the fetal programming hypothesis. The positive indirect effect via adult BMI highlights the persistence of body weight throughout a person's life and the adverse effects of high BMI on health. The results are consistent with previous findings that both low birth weight and weight gain increase health risks in adulthood.
Adult BMI, Causal mediation, LDL cholesterol, multivariable Mendelian randomization
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