TY - JOUR
T1 - Birth weight, gestational age and late adolescent liver function using twin status as instrumental variable in a Hong Kong Chinese birth cohort
T2 - “Children of 1997”
AU - Liu, Jun Xi
AU - Au Yeung, Shiu Lun
AU - Kwok, Man Ki
AU - Leung, June Yue Yan
AU - Lin, Shi Lin
AU - Hui, Lai Ling
AU - Leung, Gabriel Matthew
AU - Schooling, C. Mary
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is a substudy of the “Children of 1997” birth cohort which was initially supported by the Health Care and Promotion Fund, Health and Welfare Bureau, Government of the Hong Kong SAR [HCPF grant 216106 ] and reestablished in 2005 with support from the Health and Health Services Research Fund, Government of the Hong Kong SAR, [HHSRF grant 03040771]; the Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases in Hong Kong, the Government of Hong Kong SAR [RFCID grant 04050172]; the University Research Committee Strategic Research Theme (SRT) of Public Health, the University of Hong Kong. The Biobank Clinical follow-up was partly supported by the WYNG Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018
PY - 2018/6
Y1 - 2018/6
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Birth weight
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Instrumental variable analysis
KW - Liver function
KW - Twin status
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85043998218&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.03.006
DO - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.03.006
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29545162
AN - SCOPUS:85043998218
SN - 0091-7435
VL - 111
SP - 190
EP - 197
JO - Preventive Medicine
JF - Preventive Medicine
ER -