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Stress in Seniors linked to low birth
weight
Newswise — Low birth
weight children may be at a greater risk of
stress-related health problems as adults,
according to a new study accepted for
publication in the Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Findings from this
study show that low birth weight (below the
10th percentile) can lead later in life to
low concentrations of cortisol, a hormone
that regulates stress response by adjusting
blood pressure and blood sugar levels. An
imbalance in cortisol can result in a host
of common adult diseases, such as coronary
heart disease and diabetes. This study
indicates that there may be a link between
fetal life conditions and adult disease.
"The study showed that
people who were born with low birth weight,
now between the ages of 60 to 70, have a
much lower cortisol response to stress than
those with average birth weights,” said Ero
Kajantie, M.D., Ph. D., a senior researcher
at the National Public Health Institute in
Helsinki, Finland, and lead author of the
study. “People with low birth weight may be
more vulnerable to long-lasting effects of
psychosocial stress, which may lead to low
cortisol stress response."
In this study, 287 men
and women born between 1934 and 1944
underwent a standardized psychosocial
stressor (a stress test) in conjunction with
having their cortisol and
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
concentrations measured. Researchers found
the lowest cortisol and ACTH concentrations
were seen in subjects with the lowest birth
weights.
Studies in humans and
animals have suggested fetal life conditions
and adult disease are linked through the
intrauterine programming of the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA).
HPAA refers to the complex set of
interactions between the hypothalamus,
pituitary gland, and adrenal gland. This set
of interactions controls stress response,
and regulates various body processes,
including digestion, the immune system, mood
and sexuality, and energy usage.
Researchers have
established a link between low birth weight
and decreased HPAA activity in adult life,
which itself is linked to a number of
disorders such as post-traumatic stress
disorder, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue
syndrome.
“This finding may help
to explain why people with low birth weight
have an increased risk of certain common
diseases such as coronary heart disease,
type 2 diabetes and depression,” said
Kajantie. “Identifying the mechanisms of
this link will help to find ways to prevent
these diseases early in life."
Other researchers
working on the study include Kimmo Feldt,
Katri Raikkonen, David I.W. Phillips, Clive
Osmond, Kati Heinonen, Anu-Katriina Pesonen,
Sture Andersson, David J.P. Barker, and
Johan G. Eriksson.
A rapid release version
of this paper has been published on-line and
will appear in the November 2007 issue of
the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &
Metabolism, a publication of The
Endocrine Society.
Founded in 1916, The
Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest,
largest, and most active organization
devoted to research on hormones, and the
clinical practice of endocrinology. Today,
The Endocrine Society’s membership consists
of over 14,000 scientists, physicians,
educators, nurses and students in more than
80 countries. Together, these members
represent all basic, applied, and clinical
interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine
Society is based in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
To learn more about the Society, and the
field of endocrinology, visit our web site
at
http://www.endo-society.org.
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