Low Birth Weight May Not Predict Diabetes in Pregnancy
- Lauren A. Plante, MD
- From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Lauren A. Plante, MD, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, MSC10 5580, 2211 Lomas Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-5286. E-mail: lplante{at}salud.unm.edu
The Barker hypothesis (1) relates small size at birth to adult health outcomes, including coronary artery disease, hypertension, and diabetes, although the distinction has not always been made between prematurity and intrauterine growth restriction as causes of low birth weight. Previous work (2–4) has shown a correlation between a mother’s own growth restriction (weighing less than the 10th percentile for gestational age at her own birth) and the probability of being diagnosed with diabetes during her pregnancy. This study was designed to further evaluate that hypothesis.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
A data file was created by the Vital Statistics Branch of the Department of Health, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This linked all females born at term in Pennsylvania in 1974 (the first year in which birth certificates requested an assessment of gestational age) who delivered singleton full-term live-born infants in the state between January 1 1999 and 31 December 2000. Members of the 1974 birth cohort were classified as small for gestational age (SGA) or appropriate for gestational age (AGA), using the 10th percentile of a contemporaneous U.S. population as the cutoff (5). The 10th percentile varies by race; as such, this distinction was preserved. Gestational age was assigned by the physician or midwife completing the birth certificate, either by clinical, menstrual, …
