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. 2017 Jan:180:53-61.e3.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.09.059. Epub 2016 Nov 4.

Weight Gain and Height Growth during Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence as Predictors of Adult Cardiovascular Risk

Belavendra Antonisamy  1 , Senthil K Vasan  2 , Finney S Geethanjali  3 , Mahasampath Gowri  1 , Y S Hepsy  1 , Joseph Richard  1 , P Raghupathy  4 , Fredrik Karpe  5 , Clive Osmond  6 , Caroline H D Fall  6
Affiliations

Weight Gain and Height Growth during Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence as Predictors of Adult Cardiovascular Risk

Belavendra Antonisamy et al. J Pediatr. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate independent relationships of childhood linear growth (height gain) and relative weight gain to adult cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk traits in Asian Indians.

Study design: Data from 2218 adults from the Vellore Birth Cohort were examined for associations of cross-sectional height and body mass index (BMI) and longitudinal growth (independent conditional measures of height and weight gain) in infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood with adult waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance [HOMA-IR]), and plasma glucose and lipid concentrations.

Results: Higher BMI/greater conditional relative weight gain at all ages was associated with higher adult WC, after 3 months with higher adult BP, HOMA-IR, and lipids, and after 15 years with higher glucose concentrations. Taller adult height was associated with higher WC (men β = 2.32 cm per SD, women β = 1.63, both P < .001), BP (men β = 2.10 mm Hg per SD, women β = 1.21, both P ≤ .001), and HOMA-IR (men β = 0.08 log units per SD, women β = 0.12, both P ≤ .05) but lower glucose concentrations (women β = -0.03 log mmol/L per SD P = .003). Greater height or height gain at all earlier ages were associated with higher adult CVD risk traits. These positive associations were attenuated when adjusted for adult BMI and height. Shorter length and lower BMI at birth were associated with higher glucose concentration in women.

Conclusions: Greater height or weight gain relative to height during childhood or adolescence was associated with a more adverse adult CVD risk marker profile, and this was mostly attributable to larger adult size.

Keywords: Asian Indians; cardiovascular risk markers; children; conditional growth analysis; height gain; weight gain.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cohort flow chart. *Number of participants used for cross-sectional analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A-G, Associations of conditional height and conditional relative weight gain from birth to 28 years of age with adult height, BMI, and cardiovascular risk factors, including “forward-looking (unadjusted for adult size)” and “backward-looking (adjusted for adult size)” analyses. Estimates represented as unit increase B, in outcome measurement along with 95% CI with unit increase in exposure variable. Gray squares represent men, and black circles represent women.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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