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Regional differences in birth size: a comparison between the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study and contemporaneous births on the Åland Islands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2015

S. Sandboge ,
J. Fellman ,
P. M. Nilsson ,
A. W. Eriksson ,
C. Osmond  and
J. G. Eriksson
S. Sandboge*
Affiliation:
Folkhälsan Research Centre, Helsinki, Finland National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, Helsinki, Finland
J. Fellman
Affiliation:
Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland
P. M. Nilsson
Affiliation:
Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
A. W. Eriksson
Affiliation:
Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Department of Genetic Epidemiology, Helsinki, Finland
C. Osmond
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK
J. G. Eriksson
Affiliation:
Folkhälsan Research Centre, Helsinki, Finland National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, Helsinki, Finland Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Vaasa Central Hospital, Vaasa, Finland Unit of General Practice, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
*
*Address for correspondence: S. Sandboge, Samfundet Folkhälsan i Svenska Finland, Folkhälsan Research Centre, Topeliuksenkatu 20, 00250 Helsinki, Finland. (Email Samuel.Sandboge@thl.fi)
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Abstract

The Åland Islands were recently ranked as Finland’s healthiest region with lower prevalence of several non-communicable diseases compared with the national mean. We have compared birth characteristics of 1697 individuals born on the Åland Islands between 1937 and 1944 with contemporaneous data from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (HBCS; n=11,808). This is a first step towards a potential future analysis of Ålandic health from a life-course perspective. Mean birth weight and length were calculated for both cohorts. Birth weight was entered into a multiple linear regression model with sex, maternal age, marital status and birth year as predictors. Mean birth weight in the Åland cohort was 3499 g, 87 g (95% CI 62; 111) higher compared with the HBCS. Sex and maternal marital status were the strongest predictors of birth weight. More detailed studies are needed to explore the potential effects of this difference in average birth weight between cohorts.

Keywords

birth lengthbirth weightregional health differences
Type
Brief Report
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 263 - 267
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Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2015 

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