ArticleAnnals of the rheumatic diseases2009
Is birthweight associated with risk of rheumatoid arthritis? Data from a large cohort study.
Article in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adiposity and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.Scientific reports · 2020Pooled it
- Birth length and perinatal exposures and rheumatoid arthritis risk in the E3N cohort.RMD open · 2026Observational
- Joint Tissues: Convergence and Divergence of the Pathogenetic Mechanisms of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Causal effects of time-varying body size on selected autoimmune disorders: a life course Mendelian randomisation study.RMD open · 2023Observational
- Article
- Birthweight and subsequent risk for thyroid and autoimmune conditions in postmenopausal women.Journal of developmental origins of health and disease · 2022Article
- Passive smoking in childhood accelerates RA risk for smokers.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2022Article
- Preclinical Autoimmune Disease: a Comparison of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Multiple Sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Associations between Adipokines in Arthritic Disease and Implications for Obesity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Review
- Presence of anticitrullinated protein antibodies in a large population-based cohort from the Netherlands.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2017Article
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Risk for Incident Rheumatoid Arthritis.Arthritis care & research · 2016Observational
- Perinatal characteristics, older siblings, and risk of ankylosing spondylitis: a case-control study based on national registers.Arthritis research & therapy · 2016Article
- Defining populations at risk of rheumatoid arthritis: the first steps to prevention.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2014Review
- Newborn infant characteristics and risk of future rheumatoid arthritis: a twin-control study.Rheumatology international · 2014Article
- Childhood socioeconomic factors and perinatal characteristics influence development of rheumatoid arthritis in adulthood.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2013Article
- Early life factors and risk of inflammatory bowel disease in adulthood.Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2013Article
- Pre-rheumatoid arthritis: predisposition and transition to clinical synovitis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2012Review
- Early menopause and severity of rheumatoid arthritis in women older than 45 years.Arthritis research & therapy · 2012Article
- Environmental and gene-environment interactions and risk of rheumatoid arthritis.Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America · 2012Review
- Alteration of antioxidant defense status precedes humoral immune response abnormalities in macrosomia.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2011Article
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4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe "fetal origins of adult disease" hypothesis suggests the uterine environment can influence the susceptibility of a fetus to future disease. We examine whether the fetal environment, as reflected by birthweight, could modulate an individual's future risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
methodsThe relationship between birthweight and the risk of incident RA was studied in 87 077 women followed prospectively in the Nurses' Health Study cohort. New cases of RA diagnosed between 1976 and 2002 were confirmed in 619 women. The association between birthweight and the future development of RA was studied in age-adjusted and Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for age and potential confounders, including history of maternal diabetes, childhood socioeconomic status, prematurity, maternal and paternal smoking, as well as additionally adjusting for risk factors for RA including smoking, age at menarche, use of oral contraceptives, use of post-menopausal hormones, total lifetime breastfeeding, and body mass index (BMI) at age 18.
resultsIn an age-adjusted model, birthweight >4.54 kg vs birthweight 3.2-3.85 kg was associated with a two-fold increased risk of RA (relative risk (RR) = 2.1, 95% CI 1.4 to 3.3). Further adjusting for potential confounders and risk factors did not change this relationship (RR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.3 to 3.0). Findings were similar when we limited cases to those with rheumatoid factor positive RA (RR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.2 to 3.6).
conclusionsIn this large prospective cohort, birthweight >4.54 kg was associated with a two-fold increased risk of adult onset RA, compared with those of average birthweight. Further study of this observation may provide insight into the pathogenesis of RA.
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