Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009;5(3):244-8.
doi: 10.7150/ijbs.5.244. Epub 2009 Mar 3.

Birth weight and coronary artery disease. The effect of gender and diabetes

Maria Banci  1 , Patrizia Saccucci, Alessandro Dofcaci, Ilaria Sansoni, Andrea Magrini, Egidio Bottini, Fulvia Gloria-Bottini
Affiliations

Birth weight and coronary artery disease. The effect of gender and diabetes

Maria Banci et al. Int J Biol Sci. 2009.

Abstract

Background: The developmental origin theory of coronary heart disease proposes that undernutrition in utero permanently changes body functions and metabolism leading to an increased risk of coronary artery diseases (CAD) in adult life. Some studies support this theory but others suggest that birth weight (BW) is not a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Gender differences concerning the association between BW and risk factors for CAD have been reported in some studies but not in others.In this paper we have analyzed the effect of gender and diabetes on the relationship between BW and CAD in the White population of Rome.

Material and methods: 226 subjects admitted to the Hospital for non fatal CAD from the White population of Rome were studied. 395 consecutive newborn infants studied in the same population in the years 1968-1972 were considered for comparison.

Results: Among subjects with CAD, reliable information on BW was obtained in 127 subjects. The distribution of BW in CAD depends on gender (p=0.009). In females with CAD there is a tendency toward low BW, while in males with CAD there is a tendency toward high BW. These associations are very marked in non-diabetic subjects with CAD (p=.001), while no significant association is observed in diabetic subjects (p=0.557).

Conclusion: Our data confirm the association between BW and CAD and suggest that the association depends on gender and is influenced by diabetes.

Keywords: Birth weight; CAD; Diabetes; Gender.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relationship between BW and CAD
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Barker DJP. The origins of the developmental origins theory. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2007;261:412–417. - PubMed
    1. Frankel T, Osmond C, Sweetman P, Yarnell J, Smith GD. Birth weight, body mass index in middle age, and incident coronary heart disease. Lancet. 1996;348:1478–1480. - PubMed
    1. Stein CF, Fall CHD, Kumaran K, Osmond C, Cox V, Barker DJP. Fetal growth and coronary heart disease in South India. Lancet. 1996;348:1269–1273. - PubMed
    1. Rich-Edwards JW, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE et al. Birth weight and risk of cardiovascular disease in a cohort of women followed up 1976. BMJ. 1976;315:396–400. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Leon DA, Lithell HO, Vâgerö D, Koupilová I, Mohsen R, Berglund L, Lithell UB, McKeigue PM. Reduced fetal growth rate and increased risk of death from ischaemic heart disease: cohort study of 15 000 Swedish men and women born 1915-29. BMJ. 1998;317:241–5. - PMC - PubMed