The fetal origins of coronary heart disease

The fetal origins of coronary heart disease Studies carried out in Hertfordshire, U.K., showed for the first time that coronary heart disease is associated with low birthweight. From 1911 onwards every baby born in the county was weighed at birth and again at one year. These weights were recorded in ledgers, which have been preserved. 15 726 men and women born during 1911-30 were traced' 121 . Death rates from coronary heart disease among them fell progressively between those who weighed less than 5-5 pounds (2-5 kg) at birth and those who weighed 9-5 pounds (4-31 kg). Another study, in Sheffield, showed that it was babies who were small because they failed to grow, rather than small because they were born prematurely, who are at increased risk of coronary heart disease' 31 . The association between low birthweight and coronary heart disease has recently been confirmed in a large cohort of nurses in the U.S.A. among whom there was a two-fold change in the relative risk of non-fatal coronary heart disease across the range of birthweight' 41 .