Preventive Medicine
Volume 111, 2018, Pages 190-197

Birth weight, gestational age and late adolescent liver function using twin status as instrumental variable in a Hong Kong Chinese birth cohort: “Children of 1997” (Article)

Liu J.X. , Au Yeung S.L. , Kwok M.K. , Leung J.Y.Y. , Lin S.L. , Hui L.L. , Leung G.M. , Schooling C.M.*
  • a School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • b School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • c School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • d School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • e School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • f School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • g School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • h School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, New York, NY, United States

Abstract

Birth weight (BW) is inversely associated with diabetes and liver function in Mendelian Randomization studies. Observationally, lower BW is usually also associated with poorer liver function. However, these studies could be confounded by socioeconomic position. Here we assessed if BW is associated with liver function in a unique population with little socio-economic patterning of BW, using both instrumental variable and an observational analysis. We used instrumental variable analysis (IVA) to assess the association of BW with liver function (alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin, and albumin) at ~17 years with twin status as an instrumental variable in the prospective population-representative “Children of 1997” birth cohort (n = 8327). We also conducted an observational analysis adjusted for sex, maternal age, maternal migrant status, smoking and parental socio-economic position. A generalized linear model with gamma family was used for ALT, ALP, and bilirubin because they are not normally distributed. Using IVA, BW was not associated with ALT, ALP or bilirubin, but was possibly negatively associated with albumin (−1.12 g/L, 95% confidence interval (CI) −2.08 to −0.16). Observationally, BW was negatively associated with ALT (−1.23 IU/L, 95% CI −2.16 to −0.30), ALP (−1.72 IU/L, 95% CI −3.43 to −0.01) and higher albumin (−0.23 g/L, 95% CI −0.40 to −0.06). Poor liver function may be a pathway by which the risks of lower BW are actuated. This insight might help identify post-natal targets of intervention to mitigate the adverse health effects of lower birth weight. © 2018

Author Keywords

Liver function Instrumental variable analysis Twin status Birth weight Epidemiology

Index Keywords

albumin birth longitudinal study Chinese Maternal Age physiology twins alanine aminotransferase bilirubin liver function twin status adolescent development human Longitudinal Studies sex difference Cohort Studies Asian continental ancestry group statistics and numerical data controlled study priority journal liver function test alkaline phosphatase social status migrant Humans smoking Adolescent male female Socioeconomic Factors Liver Function Tests socioeconomics observational study Article adult cohort analysis Hong Kong Birth Weight gestational age Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85043998218&doi=10.1016%2fj.ypmed.2018.03.006&partnerID=40&md5=6d9f20a8802a344f23a79a6327313160
DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.03.006
ISSN: 00917435
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English