Disorders of glucose regulation in adults and birth weight: results from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AUSDIAB) Study.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the association of birth weight with indexes of glycemia in a population-based survey.


METHODS
A total of 10,788 participants in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) Study were asked to complete a birth weight questionnaire. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postload glucose (PLG), and A1C were modeled against birth weight. World Health Organization criteria were used to define impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and diabetes.


RESULTS
Among 7,157 participants who responded to the questionnaire, 4,502 reported their birth weights, with a mean +/- SD of 3.4 +/- 0.7 kg. FPG, PLG, and A1C were strongly and inversely correlated with birth weight. The odds ratios (95% CI) for high (>90th sex-specific percentile) FPG, PLG, and A1C were 0.83 (0.71-0.96), 0.74 (0.65-0.84), and 0.81 (0.70-0.94), respectively, for a 1-kg increase in birth weight after adjustment for age and sex. In those with low birth weight (LBW), the risks for having IFG, IGT, and diabetes and for all abnormalities combined were increased by 1.75, 2.22, 2.76, and 2.28, respectively, for women and by 1.40, 1.32, 1.98, and 1.49 for men compared with risks for those with normal birth weight. These trends applied across categories of age and BMI.


CONCLUSIONS
In an affluent Western country with a good adult health profile, birth weight has an inverse relationship with indexes of glycemia, and individuals with LBW were predisposed to higher rates of glycemic dysregulation in adult life. These associations were independent of BMI and of other factors significantly correlated with glycemic dysregulation.
Al Salmi
Isa
I
Centre for Chronic Disease, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. i.alsalmi@uq.edu.au
Hoy
Wendy E
WE
Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan
Srinivas
S
Wang
Zhiqiang
Z
Gobe
Glenda C
GC
Barr
Elizabeth L M
EL
Shaw
Jonathan E
JE
D001315:Australia; D001724:Birth Weight; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin