Birth Weight as a Predictor of Adult Bone Mass in Postmenopausal Women: The Rancho Bernardo Study

Abstract

Understanding the determinants of adult bone mass may help to identify women for prevention of osteoporosis. We postulated that birth weight would predict low adult bone mass in old age. Subjects were 305 postmenopausal Caucasian women (mean age 70 years). Bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) were measured at the wrist, forearm, hip and lumbar spine. Birth weight was assessed by self-report. Birth weight was positively correlated with BMC at the forearm (r = 0.15), hip (r = 0.12) and lumbar spine (r = 0.18), and the age-adjusted mean BMC increased significantly from the lowest to the highest birth weight tertile. Adjusting for adult weight diminished this association at the forearm and hip, but not at the spine. Adjustment for multiple other covariates, including height, did not materially change these associations. Adult weight and height were significantly correlated with birth weight (r = 0.19 and r = 0.24, respectively). Birth weight was not independently correlated with BMD. Birth weight was thus positively correlated with adult weight and BMC 70 years later. These findings suggest that low birth weight may be a marker for future low bone mass and that different mechanisms exist for establishing the adult bone envelope (estimated by BMC) versus its density (estimated by BMD).

The influence of birth weight and length on bone mineral density and content in adolescence: The Tromsø Study, Fit Futures

“…Similarly, positive associations have been observed between birth weight and bone mineral content (BMC) in young adults, postmenopausal women and elderly [16,17]. However, inverse associations between birth weight and bone mineral density and content have also been reported in pre-pubertal children [11] and young adults [18].…”

Intrauterine growth restriction and adult disease: the role of adipocytokines

“…Thus, leptin may play a role in the control of substrate utilization and in the maintenance and functional characteristics of fat mass before birth, producing permanent changes concerning adiposity and body composition in adult life (55,56). Moreover, accumulating evidence indicates that the risk of osteoporosis may also be determined by factors acting on intrauterine bone development via alterations in leptin dynamics (54,57).…”

Birth weight is more important for peak bone mineral content than for bone density: the PEAK-25 study of 1,061 young adult women

“…With peak bone mass as a key stage in skeletal development prior to the onset of the natural process of age associated bone loss, determination of the relationship between birth weight and bone mass in early adulthood is imperative. Although numerous studies have been performed [18,19,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39], only a limited number involved women around the third decade and these generally employed small sample sizes. Hence the findings of our study enhances current knowledge and supports the idea of invoking preventive measures while parental awareness may be warranted for those with or at risk of lower birth weights.…”