Early life body mass trajectories and mortality in older age: findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.
BACKGROUND
Overweight and obesity in childhood have been linked to an increased risk of adult mortality, but evidence is still scarce.


METHODS
We identified trajectories of body mass index (BMI) development in early life and investigated their mortality risk. Data come from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, in which 4943 individuals, born 1934-1944, had serial measures of weight and height from birth to 11 years extracted from health care records, weight and height data in adulthood, and register-based mortality data for 2000-2010.


RESULTS
Three early BMI trajectories (increasing, average, and average-to-low for men and increasing, average, and low-to-high BMI for women) were identified. Women with an increasing or low-to-high BMI (BMI lower in early childhood, later exceeded average) trajectory had an increased risk of all-cause mortality compared to those with an average BMI trajectory (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.07-2.23; and HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.04-2.37, respectively). Similar associations were observed for cancer mortality. Among men, BMI trajectories were not associated with all-cause mortality, but those with average-to-low BMI (BMI first similar then dropped below average) had an increased risk of cancer mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
An increasing BMI in early life may shorten the lifespan of maturing cohorts as they age, particularly among women.
['von Bonsdorff|Mikaela B|MB|', 'Törmäkangas|Timo|T|', 'Rantanen|Taina|T|', 'Salonen|Minna K|MK|', 'Osmond|Clive|C|', 'Kajantie|Eero|E|', 'Eriksson|Johan G|JG|']
D000328:Adult D000367:Age Factors D000368:Aged D001499:Bayes Theorem D015992:Body Mass Index D001835:Body Weight D002423:Cause of Death D002648:Child D002675:Child, Preschool D015331:Cohort Studies D016208:Databases, Factual D005260:Female D005387:Finland D006801:Humans D007231:Infant, Newborn D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009369:Neoplasms D050177:Overweight D012306:Risk
mortality Aging body mass index birth size developmental origins of adult health and disease growth mixture models life-course epidemiology