ArticleCardiovascular diabetology2016
Low birth weight leads to obesity, diabetes and increased leptin levels in adults: the CoLaus study.
Article in Cardiovascular diabetology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 150 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
150 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 304 citations in OpenAlex.
- Is low birth weight associated with lower adiponectin levels? - A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Level of exposure to aflatoxins during pregnancy and its association with adverse birth outcomes in Africa: a meta-analysis.International health · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of Maternal Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors on the Association Between Particulate Matter and Adverse Birth Outcomes: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2021Pooled it
- Association of Low Birth Weight and Premature Birth With the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2020Pooled it
- Compliance with and acceptability of two fortified balanced energy protein supplements among pregnant women in rural Nepal.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Trial
- Maternal Blood Pressure in Relation to Prenatal Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplementation and Adverse Birth Outcomes in a Ghanaian Cohort: A Randomized Controlled Trial and Cohort Analysis.The Journal of nutrition · 2021Trial
- Relationship between socioeconomic status and weight gain during infancy: The BeeBOFT study.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Human fecal transplantation from stunted children promotes metabolic dysfunction in mice fed with a high-fat and high-fructose corn syrup diet.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- Leptin-specific epigenetic modulation of preterm cord blood serves as a candidate biomarker for obesity.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Compartment-specific soluble immune profiles associated with preterm birth, perinatal death, and low birthweight in pregnant individuals living with HIV.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Risk factors for low birthweight among multinational mothers: results from the first population-based maternal and infant health monitoring system in the capital emirate of the United Arab Emirates.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Association of famine exposure in early life with the risk of mortality in later life among Chinese population: a prospective cohort study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Article
- Joint Modeling of Birth Outcomes Using a Copula Distributional Regression Approach.Health economics · 2026Article
- A prospective study of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), stress, and birth size in a cohort of U.S. Black women.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2026Article
- Combined association of birth weight and current overweight/obesity with cardiometabolic risk factor clustering in Chinese children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Prenatal exposure to metal mixtures and the risk of overweight and obesity in school-aged children: insights from metabolomic profiling.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Perinatal phlorizin alleviates maternal high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome in female mouse offspring and is associated with modulation of the gut microbiota.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Association between inflammatory indicators derived from preconception complete blood count and specific adverse fetal, neonatal, and pregnancy outcomes: a national cohort study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Perinatal brain growth and autistic traits in toddlers.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Neonatal mortality risk for vulnerable newborn types in 15 countries using 125.5 million nationwide birth outcome records, 2000-2020.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Article
90 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLow birth weight is associated with increased rates of obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, but the precise mechanisms for this association remain unclear. We aimed to assess the relationships between birth weight and markers of glucose homeostasis or obesity in adults.
methodsCross-sectional population-based study on 1458 women and 1088 men aged 35-75 years living in Lausanne, Switzerland. Birth weight was self-reported and categorized into ≤ 2.5, 2.6-3.5, 3.6-4.0 and >4.0 kg. Body composition was assessed by bioimpedance. Leptin and adiponectin levels were measured by ELISA.
resultsWomen with low birth weight (≤ 2.5 kg) had higher levels of fasting plasma glucose, insulin, HOMA, diabetes and metabolic syndrome; a non significant similar trend was seen in men. In both genders, height increased with birth weight, whereas a U-shaped association was found between birth weight and body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage. After adjusting for age, smoking status, physical activity and fat mass, an inverse association was found between leptin and birth weight categories: adjusted mean ± standard error 17.3 ± 0.7, 16.2 ± 0.3, 15.6 ± 0.5 and 14.0 ± 0.8 ng/dL for birth weight categories ≤ 2.5, 2.6-3.5, 3.6-4.0 and >4.0 kg, respectively, in women (p < 0.05) and 9.8 ± 0.8, 9.1 ± 03, 7.8 ± 0.4 and 7.7 ± 0.5 ng/dL in men (p < 0.05). An inverse association was also found between reported birth weight and leptin to fat mass ratio: mean ± standard error 0.77 ± 0.04, 0.73 ± 0.02, 0.69 ± 0.03 and 0.62 ± 0.04 in women (p < 0.05); 0.46 ± 0.05, 0.45 ± 0.02, 0.39 ± 0.02 and 0.38 ± 0.03 in men (p < 0.05). No differences in adiponectin levels were found between birth weight groups.
conclusionsMiddle-aged adults born with a low weight present a higher prevalence of diabetes and obesity and also higher leptin levels and leptin to fat mass ratio than adults born with a normal weight. The higher leptin levels and leptin to fat mass ratio among adults born with a low weight might be related to nutritional factors during childhood or to the development of leptin resistance and/or higher leptin production by body fat unit. Subjects born with a low weight should be counselled regarding the risks of developing diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.