Childhood body mass index and adult pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic risk factors: data from the New Delhi birth cohort.
OBJECTIVE
Weight gain and growth in early life may influence adult pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic cardiovascular risk factors.


METHODS
Follow-up of a birth cohort in New Delhi, India, whose weight and height were measured every 6 months until age 21 years. Body mass index (BMI) at birth, during infancy (2 years), childhood (11 years) and adulthood (26-32 years) and BMI gain between these ages were analysed in 886 men and 640 women with respect to adult fibrinogen, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) concentrations.


RESULTS
All the pro-inflammatory/pro-thrombotic risk factors were higher in participants with higher adiposity. In women, BMI at birth and age 2 years was inversely related to fibrinogen (P = 0.002 and 0.05) and, after adjusting for adult adiposity, to hsCRP (P = 0.02 and 0.009). After adjusting for adult adiposity, BMI at 2 years was inversely related to hsCRP and PAI-1 concentrations (P < 0.001 and 0.02) in men. BMI gain between 2 and 11 years and/or 11 years to adulthood was positively associated with fibrinogen and hsCRP in women and with hsCRP and PAI-1 in men.


CONCLUSIONS
Thinness at birth or during infancy, and accelerated BMI gain during childhood/adolescence are associated with a pro-inflammatory/pro-thrombotic state in adult life. An altered inflammatory state could be one link between small newborn/infant size and adult cardiovascular disease. Associations between pro-inflammatory markers and childhood/adolescent BMI gain are probably mediated through adult adiposity.
Lakshmy
Ramakrishnan
R
Department of Cardiac Biochemistry, Department of Endocrinology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. lakshmy_ram@yahoo.com
Fall
Caroline Hd
CH
Sachdev
Harshpal Singh
HS
Osmond
Clive
C
Prabhakaran
Dorairaj
D
Biswas
Sushant Dey
SD
Tandon
Nikhil
N
Ramji
Siddharth
S
Reddy
Kolli Srinath
KS
Barker
David Jp
DJ
Bhargava
Santosh K
SK
D050154:Adiposity; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 / Q000032:analysis*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology
D015415:Biomarkers; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; D005340:Fibrinogen; D002097:C-Reactive Protein