Birth weight for gestational age and later cardiovascular health: a comparison between longitudinal Finnish and indigenous Australian cohorts

Small or large birth weight for gestational age has been linked with later cardiovascular disease risk. However, cardiovascular risk markers from childhood to adulthood according to birth weight in diverse longitudinal settings globally have not been extensively studied. To examine the relationship between birth weight and cardiovascular risk profile from childhood until young adulthood in two geographically and socioeconomically distinct cohorts. Data were derived from two longitudinal birth cohort studies; one from southern Finland (Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project, STRIP) and one from northern Australia comprising Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Birth Cohort, ABC). The sample included 747 Finnish participants and 541 Indigenous Australians with data on birth weight, gestational age and cardiovascular risk factors (body mass index [BMI]), waist-to-height ratio [WHtR], lipid profile, blood pressure) collected at ages 11, 18 and 25 or 26 years. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) was assessed at age 18 or 19 years. Participants were categorised according to birth weight for gestational age (small [SGA], appropriate [AGA] or large [LGA]). Associations between birth weight category and cardiovascular risk markers were studied using a repeated measures ANOVA. Higher birth weight category was associated with higher BMI later in life in both cohorts (p=.003 for STRIP and p