TY - JOUR

T1 - A Prospective Study of Height and Body Mass Index in Childhood, Birth Weight, and Risk of Adult Glioma Over 40 Years of Follow-up

AU - Kitahara, Cari M

AU - Gamborg, Michael

AU - Rajaraman, Preetha

AU - Sørensen, Thorkild I A

AU - Baker, Jennifer L

N1 - Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2014. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Greater attained height and greater body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) in young adulthood have been associated with glioma risk, but few studies have investigated the association with body size at birth or during childhood, when the brain undergoes rapid cell growth and differentiation. The Copenhagen School Health Records Register includes data on 320,425 Danish schoolchildren born between 1930 and 1989, with height and weight measurements from ages 7-13 years and parentally recorded birth weights. We prospectively evaluated associations between childhood height and BMI, birth weight, and adult glioma risk. During follow-up (1968-2010), 355 men and 253 women aged ≥18 years were diagnosed with glioma. In boys, height at each age between 7 and 13 years was positively associated with glioma risk; hazard ratios per standard-deviation score at ages 7 (approximately 5.1 cm) and 13 (approximately 7.6 cm) years were 1.17 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 1.30) and 1.21 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.35), respectively. No associations were observed for childhood height in girls or for BMI. Birth weight was positively associated with risk (per 0.5 kg: hazard ratio = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.24). These results suggest that exposures associated with higher birth weight and, in boys, greater height during childhood may contribute to the etiology of adult glioma.

AB - Greater attained height and greater body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) in young adulthood have been associated with glioma risk, but few studies have investigated the association with body size at birth or during childhood, when the brain undergoes rapid cell growth and differentiation. The Copenhagen School Health Records Register includes data on 320,425 Danish schoolchildren born between 1930 and 1989, with height and weight measurements from ages 7-13 years and parentally recorded birth weights. We prospectively evaluated associations between childhood height and BMI, birth weight, and adult glioma risk. During follow-up (1968-2010), 355 men and 253 women aged ≥18 years were diagnosed with glioma. In boys, height at each age between 7 and 13 years was positively associated with glioma risk; hazard ratios per standard-deviation score at ages 7 (approximately 5.1 cm) and 13 (approximately 7.6 cm) years were 1.17 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 1.30) and 1.21 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.35), respectively. No associations were observed for childhood height in girls or for BMI. Birth weight was positively associated with risk (per 0.5 kg: hazard ratio = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.24). These results suggest that exposures associated with higher birth weight and, in boys, greater height during childhood may contribute to the etiology of adult glioma.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Adult

KW - Birth Weight

KW - Body Height

KW - Body Mass Index

KW - Brain Neoplasms

KW - Child

KW - Denmark

KW - Female

KW - Follow-Up Studies

KW - Glioma

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Prospective Studies

KW - Risk Factors

KW - Sex Factors

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1093/aje/kwu203

DO - 10.1093/aje/kwu203

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25205831

VL - 180

SP - 821

EP - 829

JO - American Journal of Epidemiology

JF - American Journal of Epidemiology

SN - 0002-9262

IS - 8

ER -