Weight at birth and subsequent risk of preeclampsia as an adult

OBJECTIVE: We examined the influence of maternal birth weight on the risk of the development of preeclampsia, a likely precursor to adult chronic disease. STUDY DESIGN: This hospital-based case-control study included 181 preeclampsia cases and 349 control subjects. Participants provided information about their birth weight and other covariates that included medical and reproductive history, prepregnancy weight, and adult height. Odds ratios and 95% CIs were estimated by logistic regression. RESULTS: The risk of preeclampsia decreased as maternal birth weight increased ( P = .01). After an adjustment was made for confounders, data showed that women with a low birth weight (50%, reduction in the risk of experiencing preeclampsia (95% CI, 0.2–1.2). This relationship differed for lean and overweight women (body mass index,