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Associations between birth weight and adult apolipoproteins : The LifeGene cohort

Sharma, Shantanu LU ; Bennet, Louise LU orcid ; Laucyte-Cibulskiene, Agne LU orcid ; Christensson, Anders LU and Nilsson, Peter M. LU (2024) In PLoS ONE 19(3 March).
Abstract

Background Early life factors may predict cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the pathways are still unclear. There is emerging evidence of an association of early life factors with apolipoproteins, which are linked to CVD. The study objective was to assess the associations between birth variables and adult apolipoproteins (apoA1 and apoB, and their ratio) in a population-based cohort. Methods The LifeGene Study is a prospective cohort comprising index participants randomly sampled from the general population. Blood samples were collected between 2009 and 2016. In this sub-study, we used birth variables, obtained from a national registry for all participants born 1973 or later, including birth weight and gestational age, while adult CVD... (More)

Background Early life factors may predict cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the pathways are still unclear. There is emerging evidence of an association of early life factors with apolipoproteins, which are linked to CVD. The study objective was to assess the associations between birth variables and adult apolipoproteins (apoA1 and apoB, and their ratio) in a population-based cohort. Methods The LifeGene Study is a prospective cohort comprising index participants randomly sampled from the general population. Blood samples were collected between 2009 and 2016. In this sub-study, we used birth variables, obtained from a national registry for all participants born 1973 or later, including birth weight and gestational age, while adult CVD risk factors included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), lipids, and smoking history. We employed univariate and multivariate general linear regression to explore associations between birth variables, lipid levels and other adult CVD risk factors. The outcomes included non-fasting apoA1 and apoB and their ratio, as well as total cholesterol and triglycerides. A total of 10,093 participants with both birth information and lipoprotein levels at screening were included. Of these, nearly 42.5% were men (n = 4292) and 57.5% were women (n = 5801). Results The mean (standard deviation) age of men was 30.2 (5.7) years, and for women 28.9 (5.8) years. There was an increase of 0.022 g/L in apoA1 levels per 1 kg increase in birth weight (p = 0.005) after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, gestational age, and smoking history. Similarly, there was a decrease of 0.023 g/L in apoB levels per 1 kg increase in birth weight (p<0.001) after adjusting for the same variables. There were inverse associations of birth weight with the apoB/apoA1 ratio. No independent association was found with total cholesterol, but with triglyceride levels (coefficient (95% Confidence Interval); -0.067 (-0.114, -0.021); p-value 0.005). Conclusions Lower birth weight was associated with an adverse adult apolipoprotein pattern, i.e., a higher apoB/apoA1 ratio, indicating increased risk of future CVD manifestations. The study highlights the need of preconception care and pregnancy interventions that aim at improving maternal and child outcomes with long-term impacts for prevention of cardiovascular disease by influencing lipid levels.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PLoS ONE
volume
19
issue
3 March
article number
e0299725
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:38427666
  • scopus:85186332798
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0299725
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
979f1b11-2006-4b46-81fd-2d3bcabceaee
date added to LUP
2024-03-15 13:47:36
date last changed
2024-12-21 12:46:58
@article{979f1b11-2006-4b46-81fd-2d3bcabceaee,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background Early life factors may predict cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the pathways are still unclear. There is emerging evidence of an association of early life factors with apolipoproteins, which are linked to CVD. The study objective was to assess the associations between birth variables and adult apolipoproteins (apoA1 and apoB, and their ratio) in a population-based cohort. Methods The LifeGene Study is a prospective cohort comprising index participants randomly sampled from the general population. Blood samples were collected between 2009 and 2016. In this sub-study, we used birth variables, obtained from a national registry for all participants born 1973 or later, including birth weight and gestational age, while adult CVD risk factors included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), lipids, and smoking history. We employed univariate and multivariate general linear regression to explore associations between birth variables, lipid levels and other adult CVD risk factors. The outcomes included non-fasting apoA1 and apoB and their ratio, as well as total cholesterol and triglycerides. A total of 10,093 participants with both birth information and lipoprotein levels at screening were included. Of these, nearly 42.5% were men (n = 4292) and 57.5% were women (n = 5801). Results The mean (standard deviation) age of men was 30.2 (5.7) years, and for women 28.9 (5.8) years. There was an increase of 0.022 g/L in apoA1 levels per 1 kg increase in birth weight (p = 0.005) after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, gestational age, and smoking history. Similarly, there was a decrease of 0.023 g/L in apoB levels per 1 kg increase in birth weight (p&lt;0.001) after adjusting for the same variables. There were inverse associations of birth weight with the apoB/apoA1 ratio. No independent association was found with total cholesterol, but with triglyceride levels (coefficient (95% Confidence Interval); -0.067 (-0.114, -0.021); p-value 0.005). Conclusions Lower birth weight was associated with an adverse adult apolipoprotein pattern, i.e., a higher apoB/apoA1 ratio, indicating increased risk of future CVD manifestations. The study highlights the need of preconception care and pregnancy interventions that aim at improving maternal and child outcomes with long-term impacts for prevention of cardiovascular disease by influencing lipid levels.</p>}},
  author       = {{Sharma, Shantanu and Bennet, Louise and Laucyte-Cibulskiene, Agne and Christensson, Anders and Nilsson, Peter M.}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3 March}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Associations between birth weight and adult apolipoproteins : The LifeGene cohort}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299725}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0299725}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}