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. 2020 Jul 28:8:405.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00405. eCollection 2020.

Association of Low Birth Weight and Premature Birth With the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis

Lihong Liao  1 , Youping Deng  1 , Dongchi Zhao  1
Affiliations

Association of Low Birth Weight and Premature Birth With the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis

Lihong Liao et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

The association of preterm or low birth weight (LBW) with the risk of metabolic syndrome is still unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between preterm or LBW and metabolic syndrome risk according to study or participants' characteristics. PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE were searched for epidemiologic studies on the association published up to April 30, 2020. Pooled odds ratio (ORs) and weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the random-effects model. Low birth weight was associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.17-1.61). In the subgroup analysis by study design, the pooled ORs for LBW and metabolic syndrome in the cohort and cross-sectional studies were 1.79 and 1.22. In the subgroup analysis by sex, LBW was found to be associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome in pooled studies including both men and women or studies including only women. The association between premature birth and risk of metabolic syndrome was significant in cohort studies (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.12-2.65). Also, LBW or preterm was significantly associated with a higher Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (WMD, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.19-0.36). Low birth weight and preterm might be risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

Keywords: low birth weight; meta-analysis; metabolic syndrome; premature birth; preterm.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the selection of studies included in the meta-analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of LBW and the risk of metabolic syndrome stratified by the study design. The size of the gray box is positively proportional to the weight assigned to each study, and horizontal lines represent 95% CIs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot of preterm and the risk of metabolic syndrome stratified by the study design. The size of the gray box is positively proportional to the weight assigned to each study, and the horizontal lines represent 95% CIs.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot of LBW or preterm with the insulin resistance level. The size of the gray box is positively proportional to the weight assigned to each study, and the horizontal lines represent 95% CIs.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Funnel plot of LBW and the risk of metabolic syndrome. Each dot represents a different study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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