An intergenerational study of birthweight: investigating the birth order effect.
In a two-generation study of the nationwide 1958 British cohort and their offspring, we investigated the intergenerational influence of birth order on birthweight. Despite increases in own birthweight by birth order and a positive parent-offspring correlation in birthweights, there was a suggestion that parental birth order was inversely associated with offspring birthweight. This paradoxical finding was due to differential intergenerational birthweight associations, with a weaker association in later-born compared with first-born parents. Our findings suggest that underlying causes of a given birthweight should be taken into account in studies that investigate long term health outcomes.
Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Elina
E
Hyppönen
Chris
C
Power
D001722:Birth Order; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000235:genetics; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking