title: Comparison of birth weight corrected for gestational age and birth weight alone in prediction of development of childhood leukemia and central nervous system tumors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  High birth weight (HBW) is an established risk factor for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The purpose of this study was to evaluate if birth weight (BW) corrected-for-gestational age is a better predictor than BW alone for occurrence of ALL and other malignancies in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Birth certificate data of 2,254 children with cancer who were younger than 5 years old at diagnosis and registered at Texas Cancer Registry during 1995-2003 were compared to 11,734 age-matched controls. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare models with BW corrected-for-gestational age and BW alone.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to children who were appropriate for gestational age (AGA), children who were large for gestational age (LGA) at birth had a 1.66 times (95% CI 1.32-2.10) higher odds of ALL. Similarly, children with a BW > or =4,000 g had a 1.5 times (95% CI 1.18-1.89) higher odds for ALL, compared to children who weighed >2,500 and <4,000 g at birth. Using model diagnostics, the model containing BW corrected-for-gestational age was a better predictor than the model with BW alone [Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) 4,646 vs. 4,658, respectively]. Odds ratios (OR) were similar for LGA children who were <4,000 g and LGA children who were > or =4,000 g (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 0.97-2.5 and OR = 1.67, 95% CI 1.29-2.16, respectively). BW was not an independent risk factor for acute myeloid leukemia or brain tumors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BW corrected-for-gestational age is a better predictor than BW alone of risk for ALL. Future studies using BW variable should incorporate gestational age in their analyses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sprehe
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Barahmani
authors.forename: Yumei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Michele R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bondy
authors.forename: M Fatih
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Okcu
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016543:Central Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005320:Fetal Macrosomia; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007938:Leukemia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology