Heavy birthweight babies twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritisJune 30, 2008Is birthweight associated with risk of rheumatoid arthritis? Data from a large cohort study Heavy birthweight female babies are twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis in adulthood as their average birthweight peers, suggests research published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. The results support the fetal origin of disease theory, which argues that certain conditions and diseases in adult life are programmed by factors during the pregnancy.
Diabetes, coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure, for example, have been linked to low birthweight, while an increased risk of breast cancer and leukaemia have been linked to high birthweight. The findings are based on over 87,000 women taking part in the US Nurses' Health Study between 1976 and 2002. All the participants were aged between 30 and 55 at the start of the study in 1976. Every two years, the women were quizzed about their health, lifestyle, and family illness. And in 1992 they were asked to provide information on their birthweight. During the study period, 619 women were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis for the first time. Women who weighed more than 4.54 kg at birth were twice as likely to develop the autoimmune disease as those who weighed between the average of 3.2 to 3.85 kg at birth. The results held true even after taking account of factors likely to influence the baby's birthweight. These included socioeconomic status, parental smoking, maternal diabetes, age at first period, use of oral contraceptives or HRT, breastfeeding and weight. There is no obvious biological explanation for the findings, say the authors. But adults with rheumatoid arthritis have abnormal hormone regulation, and it is thought that this process may be triggered while in the womb. Although completely speculative, they go on to suggest that if the risk of rheumatoid arthritis could be lessened during pregnancy, altering the mother's diet could open up an exciting avenue for prevention. BMJ-British Medical Journal Science News and Science Current Events Tag Cloud This tag cloud is a visual representation of term frequencies of random science news topics with common terms grouped together and emphasized by their display size. Discrimination Antioxidant Drug Resistance Molecular Imaging Inflammatory Bowel Disease Pediatric Ethanol Production Cannabinoids Angiography Vitamin D Glucose Stereotypes Intestinal Bacteria Broadband Nuclear Medicine Cancer Drug Antarctica Radiation dose Transcription Parkinson's disease ADHD Archaea Genomes Glaciers Logging
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Related Birthweight Current Events and Birthweight News Articles 2 studies: The first finds twins born after fertility treatment have a higher risk of problems Twins born as a result of assisted reproductive technology (ART) are more likely to be admitted to neonatal intensive care and to be hospitalised in their first three years of life than spontaneously conceived twins Medical costs for one premature baby could cover a dozen healthy births The medical costs that businesses pay to care for one premature baby for a year could cover the costs for nearly a dozen healthy, full-term infants, according to new statistics from the March of Dimes. Studies link maternity leave with fewer C-sections and increased breastfeeding Two new studies led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, suggest that taking maternity leave before and after the birth of a baby is a good investment in terms of health benefits for both mothers and newborns. Monitoring outcomes of suicide attempts in pregnancy can better assess drug dangers Monitoring the health of children born to women who attempted suicide while pregnant can shed light on which medicines and what doses are particularly dangerous to developing fetuses, according to researchers from Hungary who publish their findings in a series of reports in a special issue of Toxicology and Industrial Health, published this week by SAGE. Preterm birth contributes to growing number of infant deaths Babies born too soon and too small accounted for a growing proportion of infant deaths, according to new statistics released today from the National Center for Health Statistics, (NCHS). Heavy birthweight increases risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis People who have a birthweight over 10 pounds are twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis when they are adults compared to individuals born with an average birthweight. Little evidence that binge drinking while pregnant seriously harms fetus There is little substantive evidence that binge drinking while pregnant seriously harms the developing fetus, finds a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Fat mum hastens path to childhood obesity A fat mother hastens a child's path to obesity, finds a study published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. Children born after PGD as healthy as those born after conventional IVF treatment Children born after embryo biopsy for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) do not show any more major malformations than those born after artificial reproduction technologies (ART) without PGD. Temple University Hospital investigates treatment for cervical dysplasia Temple University Hospital's Center For Women's Health is participating in a national study to determine the safety and effectiveness of an investigational treatment for cervical dysplasia. More Birthweight Current Events and Birthweight News Articles |
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