Females With High Birth Weight More Likely To Develop Rheumatoid Arthritis
July 1st, 2008 | by admin |A new study published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseasesfinds that compared to females born with average birth weight, thoseborn with heavy birth weight are two times as likely to developrheumatoid arthritis when they become adults. Rheumatoid arthritis is acondition that occurs when the immune system attacks the joints, lungsor skin and results in inflammation, pain, and loss of functioningmobility.
Researcher L A Mandl (Division of Rheumatology, Hospital for SpecialSurgery, Weill Cornell Medical College) and colleagues argue that thesefindings support the fetal origin of disease theory. That is, factorsthat occur during pregnancy program an individual to be more prone tocertain diseases and conditions in adult life. For example, previousresearch has linked low birth weight to conditions such as diabetes,coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure, and high birth weighthas been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer andleukemia.
These new findings on rheumatoid arthritis development comefrom a survey of more than 87,000 women, age 30 to 55, who took part inthe US Nurses’ Health Study from 1976 and 2002. In two year intervals,the women responded to questions about their health, lifestyle, andfamily illness. In 1992, researchers asked them questions about birthweight.
Between 1976 and 2002, 619 women received their firstdiagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. The average birth weight was between3.2 to 3.85 kg, and women who weighed over 4.45 kg at birth were foundto be twice as likely to develop the autoimmune disease known asrheumatoid arthritis. These findings held after the researchersstatistically controlled for factors that may influence birth weightsuch as socioeconomic status, parental smoking, maternal diabetes, ageat first period, use of oral contraceptives or hormone replacementtherapy, breastfeeding and weight.
Though the authors do not have a clear biological explanation for theirresults, they do note that abnormal hormone regulation - a processthought to affect a baby while in the womb - is prevalent in adultswith rheumatoid arthritis.
The authors conclude that: “The biology underlying this association isspeculative, and the relative importance of fetal nutrition versusgenotype is unknown. However, if fetal nutrition has an impact onfuture risk of RA [rheumatoid arthritis], this could be a potentiallymodifiable risk factor. Further study of our observation that highbirth weight is associated with an increased risk of RA could provideinsight into the pathogenesis of RA. These data also provide furtherevidence for the importance of fetal environment as a crucible forfuture adult diseases.”
Is birthweight associated with risk of rheumatoid arthritis?Data from a large cohort study
L A Mandl, K H Costenbader, J F Simard, E W Karlson
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2008).
doi 10.1136/ard.2007.080937]
ClickHere to Journal Website
Written by: Peter M Crosta
Copyright: Medical News Today
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