ObjectiveTo examine associations between maternal height and child growth during 4 developmental periods: intrauterine, birth to age 2 years, age 2 years to mid-childhood (MC), and MC to adulthood.Study designPooled analysis of maternal height and offspring growth using 7630 mother–child pairs from 5 birth cohorts (Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines, and South Africa). We used conditional height measures that control for collinearity in height across periods. We estimated associations between maternal height and offspring growth using multivariate regression models adjusted for household income, child sex, birth order, and study site.ResultsMaternal height was associated with birth weight and with both height and conditional height at each age examined. The strongest associations with conditional heights were for adulthood and 2 years of age. A 1-cm increase in maternal height predicted a 0.024 (95% CI: 0.021-0.028) SD increase in offspring birth weight, a 0.037 (95% CI: 0.033-0.040) SD increase in conditional height at 2 years, a 0.025 (95% CI: 0.021-0.029 SD increase in conditional height in MC, and a 0.044 (95% CI: 0.040-0.048) SD increase in conditional height in adulthood. Short mothers (<150.1 cm) were more likely to have a child who was stunted at 2 years (prevalence ratio = 3.20 (95% CI: 2.80-3.60) and as an adult (prevalence ratio = 4.74, (95% CI: 4.13-5.44). There was no evidence of heterogeneity by site or sex.ConclusionMaternal height influences offspring linear growth over the growing period. These influences likely include genetic and non-genetic factors, including nutrition-related intergenerational influences on growth that prevent the attainment of genetic height potential in low- and middle-income countries.

Ecological cues during prenatal and postnatal development may allow organisms to adjust reproductive strategy. The hypothalamicpituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis is a prime candidate for adaptive plasticity as a result of its critical period of birth to 6 mo (B6M) in humans and the role of testosterone in the development and maintenance of costly sexually dimorphic somatic and behavioral traits. We hypothesized that weight velocity specific to B6M would predict male life history characteristics, including maturational timing, reproductive hormones, adult size, strength, and sexual activity. Data come from 770 Filipino men (age 20.5-22.5 y) followed since birth, with predictor variables including birth weight and weight velocities calculated at 6-mo intervals during the first 2 y of life. As expected, infants who were breastfed experienced less diarrhea, lived in wealthier households with better hygiene, and grew faster from B6M. Males with rapid B6M growth reached puberty earlier and, as young adults, had higher testosterone levels, were taller, more muscular, and had higher grip strength. They also had sex earlier and were more likely to report having had sex in the past month, resulting in more lifetime sex partners. Relationships between B6M weight gain and physical outcomes were generally not present or weaker in female subjects. We conclude that rapid weight gain specific to the brief postnatal hypothalamic-pituitarygonadal critical period predicts early maturation and sexual activity, elevated hormone production, and more costly adult somatic characteristics among the male subjects in this sample. These findings provide evidence for early life developmental plasticity in male life history and reproductive strategy in humans.adaptation | developmental plasticity | testosterone | endocrinology | growth and development D evelopmental plasticity in response to nutrients and hormones during fetal and infancy development can modify growth patterns, adult metabolism, and hormone regulation (1, 2). These effects are hypothesized to have evolved to allow modification of nutritional requirements and reproductive strategy as ecological conditions change (3-5). Maternally derived ecological cues transferred via the placenta or in breast milk could convey information about typical energetic or social experiences in the past (5, 6), and thus allow the developing organism to modify biological settings in anticipation of conditions likely to be experienced in the future (3, 4, 7).Although widely cited, this hypothesis has been subjected to minimal empirical testing in humans. A small number of human studies provide evidence for early life plasticity in reproductive biology, which has clear implications for genetic fitness and thus could be under selection. Jasienska and colleagues (8) reported that the threshold of energetic stress that suppresses ovarian steroidogenesis varies according to a woman's own birth weight, and they speculated that this indicates a capacity to reset energetic thresholds regulating initiation of pregn...

Objectives-Evaluate associations between birth weight (BW), infancy and childhood weight gain and adult body composition.Methods-Subjects included participants of five birth cohort studies from low and middle income nations (Brazil, Guatemala, India, Philippines, South Africa; n=3432). We modeled adult body composition as a function of BW and conditional weight gain (CW), representing changes in weight trajectory relative to peers, in three age intervals (0-12m, 12-24m, 24m-mid childhood).Results-In 34 of 36 site-and sex-specific models, regression coefficients associated with BW and CWs were higher for adult fat-free than for fat mass. The strength of coefficients predicting Europe PMC Funders GroupAuthor Manuscript Am J Hum Biol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2013 January 10. Europe PMC Funders Author ManuscriptsEurope PMC Funders Author Manuscripts fat-free mass relative to those predicting fat mass was greatest for birth weight, intermediate for CWs through 24 months, and weaker thereafter. However, because fat masses were smaller and showed larger variances than fat-free masses, weaker relationships with fat mass still yielded modest but significant increases in adult % body fat (PBF). CW at 12 months and mid-childhood tended to be strongest predictors of PBF, while BW was generally the weakest predictor of PBF. For most early growth measures, a 1 SD change predicted less than a 1% change in adult body fat, suggesting that any health impacts of early growth on changes in adult body composition are likely to be small in these cohorts.Conclusions-Birth weight and weight trajectories up to 24 months tend to be more strongly associated with adult fat-free mass than with fat mass, while weight trajectories in mid-childhood predict both fat mass and fat-free mass.

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of being born preterm or small for gestational age (SGA) on several adult outcomes.Study designWe analyzed data for 4518 adult participants in 5 birth cohorts from Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines, and South Africa.ResultsIn the study population, 12.8% of males and 11.9% of females were born preterm, and 26.8% of males and 22.4% of females were born term but SGA. Adults born preterm were 1.11 cm shorter (95% CI, 0.57-1.65 cm), and those born term but SGA were 2.35 cm shorter (95% CI, 1.93-2.77 cm) compared with those born at term and appropriate size for gestational age. Blood pressure and blood glucose level did not differ by birth category. Compared with those born term and at appropriate size for gestational age, schooling attainment was 0.44 years lower (95% CI, 0.17-0.71 years) in those born preterm and 0.41 years lower (95% CI, 0.20-0.62 years) in those born term but SGA.ConclusionBeing born preterm or term but SGA is associated with persistent deficits in adult height and schooling, but is not related to blood pressure or blood glucose level in low- and middle-income settings. Increased postnatal growth is associated with gains in height and schooling regardless of birth status, but not with increases in blood pressure or blood glucose level.