Intrauterine growth restriction: no unifying risk factor for the metabolic syndrome in young adults

BackgroundThe validity and appropriateness of the metabolic syndrome as a cardiovascular risk factor are increasingly debated, partly because of the lack of a unifying underlying pathophysiological mechanism. Intrauterine growth retardation (low birth weight by sex and gestational length) has been associated with several cardiovascular problems and could be an important underlying risk factor for the metabolic syndrome.MethodsThe association between intrauterine growth retardation (from the Norwegian Medical Birth Registry) and the metabolic syndrome in 7435 men and women aged 20-30 years from the population-based HUNT 2 study was studied with logistic regression using fractional polynomial models.ResultsIn men, there were significant associations with several of the separate components of the metabolic syndrome: central obesity (exponential, P < 0.001), raised triglycerides (negative linear, P= 0.018), reduced HDL-cholesterol (U-shaped, P = 0.086), raised blood pressure (negative linear, P = 0.036), and ...