Associations of stunting in early childhood with cardiometabolic risk factors in adulthood

Abstract

Early life stunting may have long-term effects on body composition, resulting in obesity-related comorbidities. We tested the hypothesis that individuals stunted in early childhood may be at higher cardiometabolic risk later in adulthood. 1753 men and 1781 women participating in the 1982 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study had measurements of anthropometry, body composition, lipids, glucose, blood pressure, and other cardiometabolic traits at age 30 years. Early stunting was defined as height-for-age Z-score at age 2 years below -2 against the World Health Organization growth standards. Linear regression models were performed controlling for sex, maternal race/ethnicity, family income at birth, and birthweight. Analyses were stratified by sex when p-interaction<0.05. Stunted individuals were shorter (β = -0.71 s.d.; 95% CI: -0.78 to -0.64), had lower BMI (β = -0.14 s.d.; 95%CI: -0.25 to -0.03), fat mass (β = -0.28 s.d.; 95%CI: -0.38 to -0.17), SAFT (β = -0.16 s.d.; 95%CI: -0.26 to -0.06), systolic (β = -0.12 s.d.; 95%CI: -0.21 to -0.02) and diastolic blood pressure (β = -0.11 s.d.; 95%CI: -0.22 to -0.01), and higher VFT/SAFT ratio (β = 0.15 s.d.; 95%CI: 0.06 to 0.24), in comparison with non-stunted individuals. In addition, early stunting was associated with lower fat free mass in both men (β = -0.39 s.d.; 95%CI: -0.47 to -0.31) and women (β = -0.37 s.d.; 95%CI: -0.46 to -0.29) after adjustment for potential confounders. Our results suggest that early stunting has implications on attained height, body composition and blood pressure. The apparent tendency of stunted individuals to accumulate less fat-free mass and subcutaneous fat might predispose them towards increased metabolic risks in later life.

Environmental exposure to metal mixtures and linear growth in healthy Ugandan children

“…It has been associated with poor neurodevelopmental and health outcomes in childhood and into adulthood. It has been associated with behavioral problems, cognitive deficits, and greater risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease later in life [1][2][3][4][5]. The most common causes of stunting include malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and infection [5,6]; however there is growing recognition of the contribution of toxic environmental exposures including lead [7][8][9].…”

Decreased Expression of Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor α Gene as an Indicator of Metabolic Disorders in Stunting Toddler

“…The peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor (PPAR) isotypes, PPARα, PPARδ/β, and PPARγ are ligand-activated nuclear transcription factors, which modulate the expression of an array of genes that play a central role in regulating glucose, lipid, and cholesterol metabolism, where imbalance can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease [13], [14], [15], [16], [17]. PPARα located on chromosome 22q12-q131 is transcriptional factors from core hormone receptors that regulate several genes involved in metabolic processes, especially fat metabolism.…”

Relationship between Environment, Smoking Behavior, Education, Poverty, and Prevalence of Stunted Toddler in Indonesia: An Ecological Analysis

“…Stunted toddlers will experience physical growth disorders and cognitive decline (Engidaye et al, 2019). As adults, they will experience decreased productivity and an increased risk of developing degenerative metabolic disorders (Rolfe et al, 2018). On the other hand, another study found that chronic malnutrition (stunting) is detrimental to academic performance among school children (Wolde and Belachew, 2019).…”