Relation between infants' birth weight and mothers' mortality: prospective observational study

A mother's risk of dying from cardiovascular disease is doubled for every kilo less her baby weighs at birth, shows research in this week's BMJ.

Davey Smith and colleagues, from the University of Bristol's Department of Social Medicine and the Office for National Statistics, followed up 1 per cent of the population of England and Wales between 1976 and 1997, using data from the 1971 Census. The causes of death and the birth weights of babies were assessed for almost 45,000 mothers.

The results showed that every 1 kilogram of weight reduction in a baby's birth weight doubled the risks of the mother dying from cardiovascular disease. The associated risks for the other two major causes of death - cancer and violence or accidents - were significantly smaller. When socio-economic indicators and marital status were taken into account, factors usually associated with greater risk of low birth weight and heart disease, the findings still held true. The authors suggest that intergenerational influences may have a part to play.

Contact:

Dr George Davey Smith, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol Email: zetkin@bristol.ac.uk