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There is lack of research on body composition and physical fitness in individuals born small for gestational age (SGA) at term entering mid-adulthood. We aimed to investigate these outcomes in adults born SGA at term. This population-based cohort study included 46 adults born SGA with birth weight < 10th percentile at term (gestational age ≥ 37 weeks) (22 women, 24 men) and 61 adults born at term with birth weight ≥ 10th percentile (35 women, 26 men) at 32 years. Body composition was examined anthropometrically and by 8-polar bioelectrical impedance analysis (Seca® mBCA 515). Fitness was measured by maximal isometric grip strength by a Jamar hand dynamometer, 40-s modified push-up test and 4-min submaximal step test. Participants born SGA were shorter than controls, but other anthropometric measures did not differ between the groups. Men born SGA had 4.8 kg lower grip strength in both dominant (95% CI 0.6 to 9.0) and non-dominant (95% CI 0.4 to 9.2) hand compared with controls. Grip strength differences were partly mediated by height. In conclusion, body composition and physical fitness were similar in adults born SGA and non-SGA at term. Our finding of reduced grip strength in men born SGA may warrant further investigation.

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to investigate visual function and vision‐related general health in adults that were born preterm with very low birth weight (VLBW: birth weight < 1500 g) in their 30s–40s.MethodsWe recruited 137 adults born preterm with VLBW and 158 term‐born controls aged 31–43 years from two birth cohorts: the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults (Finland) and the NTNU Low Birth Weight in a Lifetime Perspective study (Norway). We used neonatal data and measured refraction, best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA) using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart, contrast sensitivity, visual fields, intraocular pressure (IOP), self‐reported vision‐targeted health status with the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire‐25.ResultsVLBW adults had a lower BCVA ETDRS score than controls: mean (SD) better eye 86.7 (13.4) versus 90.2 (4.4), p = 0.02; mean (SD) worse eye 82.3 (14.9) versus 87.6 (4.6), p = 0.003. VLBW adults also had lower contrast sensitivity thresholds in several spatial frequencies and scored lower than controls in eight out of the 12 subscales of self‐reported vision‐targeted health status. Refraction, visual fields and IOP were similar between groups. Two VLBW participants were blind. None had been treated for retinopathy of prematurity.ConclusionWe suggest that lower visual function and vision‐related health represent life‐long consequences of prematurity and VLBW in the studied 31‐ to 43‐year‐old cohort. The underlying mechanisms remain to be determined.