Regional differences in birth size: a comparison between the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study and contemporaneous births on the Åland Islands

Sandboge, Samuel; Fellman, Johan; Nilsson, Peter M.; Eriksson, Aldur W.; Osmond, Clive; Eriksson, Johan G.

doi:10.1017/s2040174415000136

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…When BWs from Åland, described as Finland's healthiest region, were compared with BWs from Helsinki in the 1930s, mean BWs from Åland was shown to be higher. 5 It has been suggested that a high intake of omega-3 fatty acid, from dietary fish consumption, is associated with a longer gestational time period and thereby a somewhat higher BW. 23,24 Since Åland is an archipelago located by the sea, its population can be assumed to have had a high consumption of fish during historical times and even at present, also involving the diet of pregnant women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some historical examples have been used to link a higher mean BW, as well as adult tallness, with better health conditions and increased longevity on the population level, for example in Åland, a Swedish-speaking archipelago province of western Finland. [3][4][5] Halland is a county located in south-west Sweden with 325,000 inhabitants. For more than a century it has been known that this population enjoys the highest mean life expectancy in Sweden.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is increased size at birth associated with longevity on the population level? – A historical and comparative analysis of regions in Sweden

Quaranta

Sharma

Pontén³

et al. 2021

J Dev Orig Health Dis

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Increased population longevity could be influenced by early life factors. Some areas have long-lived populations, also in a historical perspective. We aimed to study these factors in Halland, an area with the highest life expectancy in Sweden. We collected archival data on gestational age and birth characteristics from 995 live singleton full-term births at the Halmstad Hospital, Halland, from the period 1936 to 1938 and compared these to 3364 births from three hospitals in nearby Scania for the period 1935–1945. In addition, data were obtained on maternal and offspring characteristics from the national Swedish Medical Birth Register during 1973–2013. The results show that when controlling for background maternal and offspring characteristics, mean birth weight (BW) and mean birth length were higher in Halland than in Scania, but the proportion of low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age (SGA) was lower. However, mean BW for Halland did not differ from the rest of Sweden in recent years 2004–2013. We also conducted a mortality follow-up for children born in Scania, which showed that LBW, being born SGA, or short birth length reduced survival. In conclusion, the high mean life expectancy in Halland compared to the rest of Sweden could have been associated with beneficial early life factors influencing birth size in the past. In more recent decades the mean BW of Halland is not different from the national mean. Thus, longevity could be expected to become more equal to the national mean in the future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is increased size at birth associated with longevity on the population level? – A historical and comparative analysis of regions in Sweden

Quaranta

Sharma

Pontén³

et al. 2021

J Dev Orig Health Dis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…64,65 Furthermore, babies born to obese mothers have a compromised immune system. 66 The Helsinki Birth Cohort comprises 13,345 men and women born during 1934-1944, 67,68 and an older cohort comprising 7086 people born during 1924-1933. 69 The Helsinki Birth Cohort is a gold mine for placentologists because at the time of birth, midwives and nurses measured the weights, widths and lengths of all births in Helsinki hospitals during those periods of time.…”

Section: Placental Lessons From the Helsinki Birth Cohortmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Placenta is the Center of the Chronic Disease Universe

Thornburg¹,

Marshall²

2016

Obstetric Anesthesia Digest

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Over the past quarter century it has become clear that adult onset chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes have their roots in early development. The report by David Barker and colleagues showing an inverse relationship between birthweight and mortality from ischemic heart disease was the first clear-cut demonstration of fetal programming. Because fetal growth depends upon the placental capacity to transport nutrients from maternal blood, it has been a suspected causative agent since the original Barker reports. Epidemiological studies have shown that placental size and shape have powerful associations with offspring disease. More recent studies have shown that maternal phenotypic characteristics, such as body mass index and height, interact with placental size and shape to predict disease with much more precision than does birthweight alone. For example, among people in the Helsinki Birth Cohort, who were born during 1924-1944, the risk for acquiring colorectal cancer increased as the placental surface became longer and more oval. Among people in whom the difference between the length and breadth of the surface exceeded 6 cm, the hazard ratio for the cancer was 2.3 (95% CI 1.2-4.7, p=0.003) compared with those in whom there was no difference. Among Finnish men, the hazard ratio for coronary heart disease was 1.07 (1.02-1.13, P =0.01) per 1% increase in the placental weight/birthweight ratio.Thus, it appears that the ratio of birthweight to placental weight, known as placental efficiency, predicts cardiovascular risk as well. Babies born with placentas at the extremes of efficiency are more vulnerable for adult onset chronic diseases. Recent evidence suggests that placental growth patterns are sex specific. Boys' placentas are, in general, more efficient than those made by girls. Another recent discovery is that the size, shape and efficiencies of the placenta can change over years of time with very narrow confidence limits. This suggests that the growth of the placenta within a population of women is strongly affected by their nutritional environment. Even though it is known that an individual placenta can expand to improve its nutrient acquisition capacity in the first 2/3 rd of gestation, the mechanisms by which placentas grow in response to a specific nutritional environment are not known. Discovering those mechanisms is the task of the current generation of scientists. While it may seem obvious that good nutrition is highly important for women who are pregnant because it supports optimal placentation and fetal development, more research is needed to determine the mechanisms by which maternal nutrition, placenta growth and fetal health are related.

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“…The Helsinki Birth Cohort comprises 13,345 men and women born during 1934–1944, 67,68 and an older cohort comprising 7086 people born during 1924–1933. 69 The Helsinki Birth Cohort is a gold mine for placentologists because at the time of birth, midwives and nurses measured the weights, widths and lengths of all births in Helsinki hospitals during those periods of time.…”

Section: Placental Lessons From the Helsinki Birth Cohortmentioning

confidence: 99%

The placenta is the center of the chronic disease universe

Thornburg

Marshall

2015

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

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Over the past quarter century it has become clear that adult onset chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes have their roots in early development. The report by David Barker and colleagues showing an inverse relationship between birthweight and mortality from ischemic heart disease was the first clear-cut demonstration of fetal programming. Because fetal growth depends upon the placental capacity to transport nutrients from maternal blood, it has been a suspected causative agent since the original Barker reports. Epidemiological studies have shown that placental size and shape have powerful associations with offspring disease. More recent studies have shown that maternal phenotypic characteristics, such as body mass index and height, interact with placental size and shape to predict disease with much more precision than does birthweight alone. For example, among people in the Helsinki Birth Cohort, who were born during 1924–1944, the risk for acquiring colorectal cancer increased as the placental surface became longer and more oval. Among people in whom the difference between the length and breadth of the surface exceeded 6 cm, the hazard ratio for the cancer was 2.3 (95% CI 1.2–4.7, p=0.003) compared with those in whom there was no difference. Among Finnish men, the hazard ratio for coronary heart disease was 1.07 (1.02–1.13, P =0.01) per 1% increase in the placental weight/birthweight ratio. Thus, it appears that the ratio of birthweight to placental weight, known as placental efficiency, predicts cardiovascular risk as well. Babies born with placentas at the extremes of efficiency are more vulnerable for adult onset chronic diseases. Recent evidence suggests that placental growth patterns are sex specific. Boys’ placentas are, in general, more efficient than those made by girls. Another recent discovery is that the size, shape and efficiencies of the placenta can change over years of time with very narrow confidence limits. This suggests that the growth of the placenta within a population of women is strongly affected by their nutritional environment. Even though it is known that an individual placenta can expand to improve its nutrient acquisition capacity in the first 2/3rd of gestation, the mechanisms by which placentas grow in response to a specific nutritional environment are not known. Discovering those mechanisms is the task of the current generation of scientists. While it may seem obvious that good nutrition is highly important for women who are pregnant because it supports optimal placentation and fetal development, more research is needed to determine the mechanisms by which maternal nutrition, placenta growth and fetal health are related.

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Regional differences in birth size: a comparison between the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study and contemporaneous births on the Åland Islands

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

Is increased size at birth associated with longevity on the population level? – A historical and comparative analysis of regions in Sweden

Is increased size at birth associated with longevity on the population level? – A historical and comparative analysis of regions in Sweden

The Placenta is the Center of the Chronic Disease Universe

The placenta is the center of the chronic disease universe

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