Temperature at birth linked to health later in lifeMarch 09, 2004Cold outdoor temperature at birth is associated with increased coronary heart disease and insulin resistance, high cholesterol levels, and poor lung function in later life, suggests a study in Heart. This link was strongest among those from the lowest social and economic classes. Researchers examined the effects of average outdoor temperature around the time of birth in a sample of 4,286 women aged 60-79 years from 23 British towns. Dates of birth for each participant were matched to official climate records. Coronary heart disease was greatest among women born during the coldest months. Cold outdoor temperature at birth was also associated with increased insulin resistance, increased cholesterol concentrations, and poorer lung function. The association between cold temperature at birth and coronary heart disease was most pronounced among those whose fathers were either unemployed or in manual social classes when the participants were children, and was non-existent in those from non-manual social classes in childhood. "Our findings have some consistency with the theory that exposure to cold temperatures around the time of birth leads to increased fat storage and insulin resistance, and thence to coronary heart disease in later life," say the authors. These findings also help to strengthen our understanding of how social and economic inequalities can interact with a "natural" inequality in the physical environment to generate and worsen health inequalities, they conclude. British Medical Journal (BMJ) |
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