ArticleAge (Dordrecht, Netherlands)2015
Prenatal and childhood growth and physical performance in old age--findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study 1934-1944.
Article in Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations of Birth Size with Physical and Cognitive Function in Men and Women 60 Years and Older-Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Birth size modifies longitudinal associations between midlife educational level and physical function at late-life for men and women.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Long-term burden of body mass index since childhood and impaired physical performance in midlife.Pediatric research · 2025Observational
- Physical capability in a rural birth cohort at the age of 52: association with early environmental, nutritional, and developmental factors.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- The utilization of primary healthcare services among frail older adults - findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Mental, Physical and Social Functioning in Independently Living Senior House Residents and Community-Dwelling Older Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Body composition and changes in health-related quality of life in older age: a 10-year follow-up of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2020Article
- Cardiovascular risk factors from childhood and midlife physical function: The Bogalusa Heart Study.Experimental gerontology · 2020Article
- Infant and childhood growth and frailty in old age: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2019Article
- Association of childhood adversities and home atmosphere with functioning in old age: the Helsinki birth cohort study.Age and ageing · 2019Article
- Glucose regulation and physical performance among older people: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.Acta diabetologica · 2018Article
- Early life stress and frailty in old age: the Helsinki birth cohort study.BMC geriatrics · 2018Article
- Association of Body Size at Birth and Childhood Growth With Hip Fractures in Older Age: An Exploratory Follow-Up of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2017Article
- Low Birth Weight and Risk of Later-Life Physical Disability in Women.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2017Article
- Childhood conditions and current physical performance among non-institutionalized individuals aged 50+ in Israel.European journal of ageing · 2016Article
- Age-Related Change in Mobility: Perspectives From Life Course Epidemiology and Geroscience.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2016Review
- Intellectual ability in young adulthood as an antecedent of physical functioning in older age.Age and ageing · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Health in adulthood is in part a consequence of development and growth taking place during sensitive periods in early life. It has not been explored previously whether early growth is associated with physical performance in old age from a life course perspective taking into account health-related behavior, biological risk factors, and early life experiences. At a mean age of 71 years, physical performance was assessed using the Senior Fitness Test (SFT) in 1078 individuals belonging to the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. We used multiple linear regression analysis to assess the association between the SFT physical fitness scores and individual life course measurements. Several adult characteristics were associated with physical performance including socioeconomic status, lifestyle factors, and adult anthropometry. Higher birth weight and length were associated with better physical performance, even after adjusting for potential confounders (all p values <0.05). The strongest individual association between life course measurements and physical performance in old age was found for adult body fat percentage. However, prenatal growth was independently associated with physical performance seven decades later. These findings suggest that physical performance in old age is at least partly programmed in early life.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.