Birthweight and Body Size throughout Life in Relation to Sex Hormones and Prolactin Concentrations in Premenopausal Women

Tworoger, Shelley S.; Eliassen, A. Heather; Missmer, Stacey A.; Baer, Heather J.; Rich‐Edwards, Janet W.; Michels, Karin B.; Barbieri, Robert L.; Dowsett, Mitch; Hankinson, Susan E.

doi:10.1158/1055-9965.epi-06-0671

Cited by 98 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…An inverse relation of birth size with adrenal androgen levels in 8-year-old children has also been found for children of normal birth size (Ong et al, 2004). In a recent study of hormone levels in premenopausal women, there was a suggestive inverse association of birth weight with DHEAS (Tworoger et al, 2006), with which our adolescent DHEAS findings accord. Furthermore, it strengthens the evidence that it is valid for all birth size, and not only for SGA children.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…We observed a weak tendency for a positive association between birth size and adolescent oestradiol level. In two previous studies, both of which controlled for cyclic variation, positive associations of premenopausal oestradiol levels with ponderal index at birth (Jasienska et al, 2006) and birth weight (Tworoger et al, 2006) were reported. If this relation is true, it may be in accord with the positive association of birth size with BC risk observed in many studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…There are only weak indications that the inverse relation of birth size with adrenal androgen production in childhood and adolescence continues into adulthood (Szathmari et al, 2001;Tworoger et al, 2006). However, should it do so, this would be in conflict with the association between BC risk and the levels of adrenal androgens in adulthood (Kaaks et al, 2005a, b), as a smaller birth size is associated with reduced risk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Association of size at birth with adolescent hormone levels, body size and age at menarche: relevance for breast cancer risk

et al. 2008

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Birth size has been positively associated with age at menarche and height in adolescence and adulthood, but the relevant biological mechanisms remain unclear. Among 262 Norwegian term-born singleton girls, birth size measures (weight, length, ponderal index, head circumference and subscapular skin-fold thickness) were analysed in relation to adolescent hormone levels (oestradiol, prolactin, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, androstenedione and free testosterone index), age at menarche and adolescent (ages 12.7 -15.5 years) and body size (height, weight, body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio) using survival analysis and general linear modelling. The results were adjusted for gestational age at birth, age and menarcheal status at measurement in adolescence and maternal age at menarche. Birth weight, birth length and head circumference were positively associated with adolescent weight and height, and small birth size was associated with earlier age at menarche. Subscapular skin-fold thickness at birth was not associated with adolescent body size, but low fold-thickness was associated with earlier age at menarche. Measures of birth size were inversely related to circulating levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate in adolescence, but there was no clear association with other hormones. These results suggest that physical and sexual development in puberty and adolescence is influenced by prenatal factors, and in combination, these factors may influence health and disease later in life. (Trichopoulos, 1990) has stimulated studies of birth size in relation to risk factors for BC (Okasha et al, 2003). Birth size is an indicator of foetal growth and may reflect intrauterine exposure to oestrogen, the key factor that was originally proposed to explain a possible association between intrauterine factors and adult BC (Trichopoulos, 1990). Studies have shown that relatively large birth size is associated with later age at menarche (Adair, 2001;Sloboda et al, 2007) and taller body height, both in adolescence (Pietiläinen et al, 2001;Romundstad et al, 2003) and in adulthood (Loos et al, 2002). Adult tallness is associated with higher BC risk, and the positive association between birth size and body height suggests that longitudinal growth in childhood and adolescence may be important determinants for subsequent BC (Michels and Willett, 2004). Birth size has also been inversely related to adrenal androgen production during childhood (Ong et al, 2004) and adolescence (Ibanez et al, 1999). Adult levels of both adrenal and gonadal androgens have been associated with BC risk (Kaaks et al, 2005a, b). The fact that small birth size is associated with earlier age at menarche and higher circulating levels of adrenal androgens cannot be easily reconciled with known BC risk factors, as small birth size may be related to reduced risk, and both early age at menarche and androgens are expected to increase risk.We have examined the relation between birth size characteristics and potential BC risk factors (ESHRE Capri Workshop Group, 2004),...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Association of size at birth with adolescent hormone levels, body size and age at menarche: relevance for breast cancer risk

et al. 2008

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“…In fact, epidemiologic data seem to indicate that the association of high birth weight with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women is not likely to be mediated through height, weight, or growth velocity in childhood and adolescence (159,160), but possibly through greater adult height (161). Whether birth size is associated with premenopausal estrogen concentrations (162,163) or adult IGF profiles (164-167) is unclear.…”

Section: Prenatal Risk Factors For Breast Cancer Cancer Epidemiol Biomentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Underlying Hormonal Mechanisms of Prenatal Risk Factors for Breast Cancer: A Review and Commentary

Troisi

Potischman

Hoover

2007

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &Amp; Prevention

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Prenatal factors have been hypothesized to influence subsequent breast cancer development. Directly evaluating the associations of in utero exposures with risk, however, presents several methodologic and theoretical challenges, including the long induction period between exposure and disease and the lack of certainty regarding the critical timing of exposure. Indirect evaluation of these associations has been achieved by use of proxies such as gestational and neonatal characteristics. Evidence suggests that preeclampsia is associated with a reduced breast cancer risk, whereas high birth weight and dizygotic twinning seem associated with an increased risk. Asians born in Asia have substantially lower breast cancer risks than women born in the West. Although data thus far are few, what exists is not consistent with a unifying hypothesis for a particular biological exposure (such as estrogens or androgens) during pregnancy as mediating the observed associations between pregnancy factors and breast cancer risk. This suggests that additional studies of prenatal factors should seek to broaden the range of hormones, growth, and other endocrine factors that are evaluated in utero. Once candidate biomarkers are identified, assessing them with respect to breast cancer and with intermediate end points in carcinogenesis should be a priority. In addition, investigations should explore the possibility that in utero exposures may not act directly on the breast, but may alter other physiologic pathways such as hormone metabolism that have their effect on risk later in life. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(9):1700 -12)

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“…15 GWG and prepregnancy BMI are inversely associated with sex hormone binding globulin levels during pregnancy, which in turn increases levels of bioavailable estrogen. 16,17 A highly estrogenic environment in utero has been suggested to increase the risk of breast cancer, 18 which may be partly mediated by mammographic density. 19 However, GWG is also positively associated with birth weight, 20 which may be positively associated with mammographic density at least in postmenopausal women, although data are limited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Anthropometry and Mammographic Density in Adult Daughters

Michels

Cohn

Goldberg³

et al. 2016

Pediatrics

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OBJECTIVE:We examined the relation between maternal anthropometry and mammographic density in the adult daughter using prospectively collected data. METHODS:Our study included a total of 700 mother-daughter dyads participating in an adult follow-up of women born in 2 US birth cohorts: the Child Health and Development Study and the Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island sites of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project. RESULTS:We observed an increased percent breast density at a mean age of 43.1 years in the daughters of mothers who gained 5 kg or less during pregnancy compared with motherdaughter pairs in which the mother gained 5 to 10 kg (β = 4.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.0 to 8.6). The daughters of mothers who were overweight at the time of conception (prepregnancy BMI ≥25) and who gained >5 kg during pregnancy had a lower percent density (β = -3.2, 95% confidence interval: -6.2 to -0.2) compared with mothers with a BMI <25 at conception who gained >5 kg. CONCLUSIONS:We did not find any strong and consistent patterns between maternal anthropometry and the daughter's breast density, a strong predictor of breast cancer risk. A modest association between low gestational weight gain and increased breast density 40 years later in the daughter was observed, even after accounting for adult body size, and if confirmed, possible mechanisms need to be further elucidated.

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Birthweight and Body Size throughout Life in Relation to Sex Hormones and Prolactin Concentrations in Premenopausal Women

Cited by 98 publications

References 65 publications

Association of size at birth with adolescent hormone levels, body size and age at menarche: relevance for breast cancer risk

Association of size at birth with adolescent hormone levels, body size and age at menarche: relevance for breast cancer risk

Exploring the Underlying Hormonal Mechanisms of Prenatal Risk Factors for Breast Cancer: A Review and Commentary

Maternal Anthropometry and Mammographic Density in Adult Daughters

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