Low birth weight linked to fractures in women after menopause
In women after menopause, low birth weight was linked to an 18% higher relative risk of spinal fractures compared with normal birth weight.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of postmenopausal women, ages 50 to 90, against women with normal birth weight
- What changed:
- Osteoporotic fracture risk was 11% higher in women with low birth weight than in women with normal birth weight
- The catch:
- Only age was adjusted for; physical activity, nutrition, and socioeconomic status could confound the association
- In the record:
- One of 9 papers on low birth weight on record: 8 with results in people.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Postmenopausal women over 50 in eastern Finland were included in an analysis of a population-based prospective cohort. Researchers compared 635 women with low birth weight, defined as below 2,500 grams, with 9,387 women of normal birth weight. Follow-up ran from age 50 until age 90 or the end of 2024. Fractures were verified using medical records and health registers.
After accounting for age, low birth weight was associated with an 18% higher relative risk of spinal fractures and a 20% higher relative risk of spinal or hip fractures combined. The relative risk of fractures classified as related to osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones, was 11% higher. Among women who had bone scans, the groups showed no significant differences in bone density or its decline with age.
Why it matters
Bone fragility after menopause raises questions about influences beyond later-life bone density. The authors suggest that adverse early-life conditions may have lasting effects on skeletal fragility.
Caveats
The fracture comparisons adjusted for age, leaving open whether other differences between the birth-weight groups contributed to the link. The findings in women from eastern Finland do not establish the same association in men or other populations.
From the paper
- Participants
A total of 3553 participants provided an exact birthweight.
- Events by group
The risk of vertebral fractures was 18% higher (SIR 1.18, CI 1.01–1.39), vertebral or hip fractures was 20% higher (SIR 1.20, CI 1.06–1.38), and any osteoporotic fracture was 11% higher (SIR 1.11, CI 1.01–1.22) in LBW group compared to normal birth weight.
Quoted word for word from the full text on link.springer.com.
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