Summary of the main associations between birth weight and other growth measures and heart disease
| Exposure | Type of association | Outcome | |
| • Birth weight | Inverse linear; in some studies inverse J shaped | CHD mortality and morbidity; in particular among men, weaker in women | |
| Inverse (linear), J shaped or U shaped | Fasting glucose, insulin, insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome | ||
| Inverse linear, but not consistently | Blood pressure | ||
| • Birth length | Inverse | CHD particularly in women, LDL cholesterol | |
| Positive or negative (placental weight acts as effect modifier), effect marginal | Blood pressure | ||
| • Head circumference | Inverse | CVD mortality in men, impaired glucose tolerance | |
| • Ponderal index | Inverse, inverse U shaped | CHD (CVD) mortality, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes | |
| • Abdominal circumference | U shaped | CHD morbidity | |
| Inverse | LDL cholesterol, plasma fibrinogen | ||
| • Catch up growth in particular if thin at birth | Positive | CHD mortality, blood pressure | |
| • Weight at 1 year | Inverse | CHD mortality among men; type 2 diabetes mellitus, plasma fibrinogen, factor VII | |
CHD, coronary heart disease; CVD, cardiovascular disease; LDL, low density lipoprotein.