ABSTRACT
Evidence over the past 10 years has demonstrated a significant associa-
tion between reduced fetal growth and the later development of meta-
bolic and cardiovascular diseases.
initially observed by Barker and colleagues. This group first reported that a
low birth weight was significantly associated with an increased risk for the
later development of cardiovascular diseases or type 2 diabetes in a cohort
of Caucasian males aged 64 years.1,2 Other epidemiological studies
performed in Pima Indians or in Caucasian subjects later confirmed this
observation, suggesting that the association holds true whether the study
populations are genetically predisposed or not to type 2 diabetes.3,4
The independent effect of thinness at birth, assessed by the ponderal
index, and the lack of association with gestational age on these compli-
cations observed in several studies support the hypothesis of deleterious
effect of reduced fetal growth rather than prematurity on this associa-
Numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated that being
born with a low birth weight is also associated with hypertension1,5 or
dyslipidemia.6,7 These complications are clustered in syndrome X, which
is initially described by Reaven as constituting a major cardiovascular
risk factor.8 Interestingly, Barker and colleagues reported that a low birth
weight was also associated with a risk for the development of syndrome
X in adulthood.7 At 50 years of age the risk for the development of syn-
drome X was 10-fold higher in subjects with a birth weight less than
2.5 kg compared with subjects weighing 4.5 kg or more.7 This associa-
tion was independent of the current body weight or the gestational age.
