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Grip strength at 4 years in relation to birth weight

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2012

R. Dodds*
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
C. Macdonald-Wallis
Affiliation:
MRC Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
T. Kapasi
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
A. A. Sayer
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
S. Robinson
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
K. Godfrey
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK Southampton NIHR Nutrition, Diet & Lifestyle Biomedical Research Unit, Southampton University Hospitals Trust, Southampton, UK
C. Cooper
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
N. Harvey
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
H. Inskip
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr R. Dodds, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK. (Email rd@mrc.soton.ac.uk)

Abstract

Consistent positive relationships have been found between birth weight and grip strength in adults but evidence in children is limited. In a prospective general population birth cohort (Southampton Women's Survey), grip strength and anthropometry (height and weight) were measured in 968 children at the age of 4 years. Mean (standard deviation (s.d.)) birth weight was 3.48 (0.52) kg. Birth weight, adjusted for sex and gestational age, was positively associated with grip strength (β = 0.22 kg/s.d. increase in adjusted birth weight; 95% CI 0.11, 0.34). The relationship was attenuated after adjustment for current height and weight such that it became non-significant (β = 0.03 kg/s.d. increase in adjusted birth weight; 95% CI−0.08, 0.14), suggesting that body size may be on the causal pathway. Early influences on muscle development appear to impact on grip strength in children, as well as adults.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2012

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