Low birth weight across generations

M. A. Klebanoff, B. I. Graubard, S. S. Kessel and H. W. Berendes

The relationship between maternal birth weight and infant birth weight was studied in the Buffalo cohort of the Collaborative Perinatal Project (n = 1,348). Regression techniques were used to control for confounders. Compared with infants of mothers who had weighed 8 lb or more at birth, infants of mothers who had weighed 6 to 7.9 lb, 4 to 5.9 lb, and less than 4 lb at birth were 99 g, 244 g, and 170 g lighter, respectively. The adjusted odds ratios of giving birth to an infant of birth weight less than 2,500 g, with mothers of birth weight 8 lb or more as the reference group, were 3.46 and 1.66 for mothers of birth weight 4 to 5.9 lb and 6 to 7.9 lb, respectively. There were no infants less than 2,500 g among the 24 women who had weighed less than 4 lb at birth. These data suggest a possible role of genetic and familial factors in determining birth weight.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Invited Commentary: Timing and Types of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Relation to Offspring Birth Weight
Ness and Catov
Am J Epidemiol 2007;166:1365-1367.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Maternal Upward Socioeconomic Mobility and Black-White Disparities in Infant Birthweight
Colen et al.
Am. J. Public Health 2006;96:2032-2039.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A polymorphism in the CYP17 gene and intrauterine fetal growth restriction
Yamada et al.
Mol Hum Reprod 2004;10:49-53.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Familial Aggregation of Fetal Growth Restriction in a French Cohort of 7,822 Term Births between 1971 and 1985
La Batide-Alanore et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2002;156:180-187.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Paternal contribution to birth weight
Magnus et al.
J. Epidemiol. Community Health 2001;55:873-877.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The malnourished baby and infant: Relationship with Type 2 diabetes
Barker
Br Med Bull 2001;60:69-88.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Maternal constraint on fetal growth patterns in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta): the intergenerational link between mothers and daughters
Price and Coe
Hum Reprod 2000;15:452-457.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Familial Aggregation of Low Birth Weight among Whites and Blacks in the United States
Wang et al.
NEJM 1995;333:1744-1749.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Preterm Delivery and Low Birth Weight -- A Dire Legacy
Hack and Merkatz
NEJM 1995;333:1772-1774.
FULL TEXT