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
. 2023 Jan;90(1):49-55.
doi: 10.1007/s12098-022-04174-4. Epub 2022 Jun 15.

The Relationship of Birth Size and Postnatal Growth with Cellular Senescence in Adults: Data from the New Delhi Birth Cohort

Mohamad Tarik  1 , Lakshmy Ramakrishnan  2 , Sikha Sinha  3 , H P S Sachdev  3 , Nikhil Tandon  4 , Ambuj Roy  5 , Santosh Kumar Bhargava  6
Affiliations

The Relationship of Birth Size and Postnatal Growth with Cellular Senescence in Adults: Data from the New Delhi Birth Cohort

Mohamad Tarik et al. Indian J Pediatr. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effect of birth size and postnatal body mass index (BMI) gain from birth to adulthood on leucocytes cellular senescence in adult life.

Methods: Participants were aged 43.04 (± 0.92) y, and were enrolled from the New Delhi Birth Cohort study, who participated in phase 7 of the study (n = 210). Cellular senescence markers, p16 and p21 gene expression were determined by RT-qPCR in leucocytes and their association with birth size and conditional BMI gain at 2, 11, and 29 y were assessed in univariate and multivariate regression models.

Results: Birth weight (regression coefficient; B = -0.087, p = 0.011) and birth BMI (unadjusted B = -0.024, p = 0.026; adjusted B = -0.032, p = 0.022) were inversely associated with p21 gene expression in adult life. The p16 gene expression was not associated with any birth parameters. Conditional BMI gain at 2 y, 11 y, and 29 y was not associated with either p16 or p21 gene expression. The p21 gene expression was inversely associated with circulating insulin (B = -0.065, p = 0.026) and C-peptide levels (unadjusted B = -0.097, p = 0.014; adjusted B = -0.133, p = 0.003).

Conclusion: Small size at birth is associated with accelerated cellular senescence in adult life. An altered senescent state is likely to be one of the links between LBW and adult chronic diseases.

Keywords: Ageing; Cellular senescence; Chronic disease; Low birth weight; Nutrition; Oxidative stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Barker DJ, Winter PD, Osmond C, Margetts B, Simmonds SJ. Weight in infancy and death from ischaemic heart disease. Lancet. 1989;2:577–80. - DOI
    1. Barker DJ, Hales CN, Fall CH, Osmond C, Phipps K, Clark PM. Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia (syndrome X): relation to reduced fetal growth. Diabetologia. 1993;36:62–7. - DOI
    1. Curhan GC, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Spiegelman D, Ascherio AL, Stampfer MJ. Birth weight and adult hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and obesity in US men. Circulation. 1996;94:3246–50. - DOI
    1. Hales CN, Barker DJP, Clark PMS, et al. Fetal and infant growth and impaired glucose tolerance at age 64. BMJ. 1991;303:1019–22. - DOI
    1. Hofman PL, Cutfield WS, Robinson EM, et al. Insulin resistance in short children with intrauterine growth retardation. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1997;82:402–6.

Substances

LinkOut - more resources