Lifecourse study of bone health at age 49-51 years: the Newcastle thousand families cohort study.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify the direct and indirect effects of fetal (position in family, weight, and social class at birth), childhood (breast feeding, growth, infections, and social class in childhood, age at menarche), and adult life (social class, alcohol consumption, smoking, diet, reproductive history, exercise, hormone replacement therapy use), and adult size (height, weight) on bone health at age 49-51 years, as measured by bone mineral density, total scanned bone area of the hip and lumbar spine, and femoral neck shaft angle.


METHODS
Follow up study of the Newcastle thousand families birth cohort established in 1947.


METHODS
171 men and 218 women who attended for dual energy x ray absorptiometry scanning.


RESULTS
Fetal life explained around 6% of variation in adult bone mineral density for men, but accounted for less than 1% for women. Adult lifestyle, including effects mediated through adult weight accounted for over 10% of variation in density for men and around 6% for women. Almost half of variation in bone area for men was explained by early life. However, most of this was mediated through achieved adult height and weight. In women, less than 5% of variation in bone area was accounted for by early life, after adjusting for adult size. Most of the variation in each of the indicators for both sexes was contributed either directly or indirectly by adult lifestyle and achieved adult height and weight.


CONCLUSIONS
The effect of fetal life on bone health in adulthood seems to be mediated through achieved adult height.
Pearce
Mark S
MS
School of Clinical Medical Sciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Sir James Spence Institute of Child Health, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, UK. m.s.pearce@ncl.ac.uk
Birrell
Fraser N
FN
Francis
Roger M
RM
Rawlings
David J
DJ
Tuck
Stephen P
SP
Parker
Louise
L
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000886:Anthropometry; D001724:Birth Weight; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005272:Femur Neck / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008019:Life Style; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class