Body mass index and height from infancy to adulthood and carotid intima-media thickness at 60 to 64 years in the 1946 British Birth Cohort Study.
OBJECTIVE
Atherosclerosis begins early in life and obesity is a key determinant. We investigated the role of body mass index (BMI) and height from infancy to adulthood in presenting with high adulthood carotid intima-media thickness.


RESULTS
Odds ratios of BMI, and height Z scores at 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 15, and 20 years, and changes between 2 and 4, 4 and 7, 7 and 15, and 15 and 20 years, for carotid intima-media thickness at 60 to 64 years in the upper quartile were estimated for 604 men and 669 women. Confounding by early-life environments, mediating by body size and cardiometabolic measures at 60 to 64 years, and effect modification were investigated. In men, there was positive association of BMI at 4 years (odds ratio, 1.256; 95% confidence interval, 1.026-1.538) and 20 years (1.282; 1.022-1.609), negative association of height at 4 years (0.780; 0.631-0.964), and negative association of height growth between 2 and 4 years (0.698; 0.534-0.913) with high carotid intima-media thickness. The childhood estimates were robust, but the estimate for BMI at 20 years was attenuated by adjustment for BMI at 60 to 64 years. The protective influence of greater early childhood height was strongest in those with the lowest systolic blood pressure at 60 to 64 years. In women, there was no pattern of association and all confidence intervals crossed 1.


CONCLUSIONS
Early childhood in men might be a sensitive developmental period for atherosclerosis, in which changes in BMI and height represent 2 distinct biological mechanisms. The maintenance of healthy weight in men from adolescence onward may be a useful strategy to avoid the atherosclerotic complications of adiposity tracking.
From the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL (W.J., D.K., V.T., R.H.) and National Centre for Cardiovascular Prevention and Outcomes, Institute of Cardiovascular Science (M.C., J.W., J.E.D.), University College London, London, United Kingdom; Population Health Research Centre, Division of Population Health Sciences and Education, St George's University of London, London, United Kingdom (P.W.); and International Centre for Circulatory Health, National Heart & Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom (A.D.H.).
William
W
Johnson
Diana
D
Kuh
Valerie
V
Tikhonoff
Marietta
M
Charakida
John
J
Woodside
Peter
P
Whincup
Alun D
AD
Hughes
John E
JE
Deanfield
Rebecca
R
Hardy
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D049628:Body Size; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
atherosclerosis; body mass index; carotid intima-media thickness; longitudinal studies