Ethnic differences in the relationship between birth weight and type 2 diabetes mellitus in postmenopausal women

Abstract Aim The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between self-reported birth weight and the adult occurrence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a large multi-ethnic population of women. Methods Baseline data from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study [ n =75,993] was used to examine the association between participant birth weight category and prevalent type 2 diabetes mellitus. Models were adjusted for age, ethnicity, body mass index and other pertinent risk factors. Sub-analyses were performed stratifying by ethnicity. Results There was a strong inverse association between birth weight and type 2 diabetes mellitus with a birth weight of Conclusion Lower birth weight was associated with increased T2D risk in American White and Black post-menopausal women.