Infant and childhood growth and frailty in old age: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

Background Evidence from life course studies highlights the importance of infant and childhood growth as risk factors for adulthood chronic diseases. Methods In this sub-study of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, we studied 1078 individuals who had both information on body size from birth to 12 years...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aging clinical and experimental research 2019-05, Vol.31 (5), p.717-721
Main Authors: Haapanen, M. J., Perälä, M. M., Osmond, C., Salonen, M. K., Kajantie, E., Rantanen, T., Simonen, M., Pohjolainen, P., Eriksson, J. G., von Bonsdorff, M. B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Aged
Body Mass Index
Child
Child Development - physiology
Child, Preschool
Cohort analysis
Cohort Studies
Female
Frailty
Frailty - diagnosis
Frailty - etiology
Geriatrics/Gerontology
Health risk assessment
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
Short Communication
Weight Gain - physiology
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Summary:Background Evidence from life course studies highlights the importance of infant and childhood growth as risk factors for adulthood chronic diseases. Methods In this sub-study of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, we studied 1078 individuals who had both information on body size from birth to 12 years of age and who were assessed for frailty according to the Fried criteria at the mean age of 71 years. Results Greater BMI gain between 2 and 11 years in boys was associated with frailty in old age (age-adjusted RRR 2.36, 95% CI 1.21, 4.63). No similar associations were observed in girls. Conclusions Men who were frail in old age experienced accelerated BMI gain in childhood compared with those men who were not frail. This was not observed in women, which suggests that the patterns of early growth predisposing to frailty may vary by sex.
ISSN:1720-8319
1594-0667
1720-8319
DOI:10.1007/s40520-018-1011-0