CH - Lecture 1 Flashcards
Define the Barker Hypothesis
Maternal undernutrition can lead to fetal growth retardation
Describe some effects of low birthweight
Coronary Heart disease Hypertension Glucose intolerance Asthma in childhood Immune dysfunction Chronic renal failure Raised cortisol Raised fibrinogen
Define the “Thrifty phenotype”
Impaired fetal growth permanently changes the body’s structure and physiology
Describe the relationship between size at birth and markers of nutrition and CVD in childhood and adulthood and discuss factors that may be responsible for this relationship
Write this out yourself
Explain the types of studies that are needed to investigate relationships between size at birth and later health
Refer to key paper 2 looking at the association between birthweight and blood pressure. It is a study that follows up regularly over entire life
What are the determinants of intrauterine growth?
Low pre-pregnancy weight Short stature Low calorie intake Maternal low birth weight Non-nutritional factors
What is lower birth weight associated with?
Increased BP, total cholesterol, insulin resistance
Define a hazard ratio
The relative risk of an end point at any given time
Explain the main points of the study relating to adult health and risk of CVD
- Asia Pacific Cohort Study collaboration
- Pooled data from 44 studies
- 510,800 participants with mean age 48years
- Adjusted analyses for age
- Calculated hazard ratio by quartiles of height
Explain the results of the Asia Pacific Cohort Study collaboration
- Linear 5-10% reduction in CVD risk with each 6cm increase in height
- Could be due to child/adult socioeconomic status or childhood nutrition
Describe the European Birth Lifecourse Study group
There was a study of 5 european cohorts
What were the results of the European Birth Lifecourse Study group?
The size of the birth weight - SBP association in adulthood may be larger than childhood
