Association Between Low Birth Weight and Dementia Risk: A Large-scale Prospective Study.
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objective: To investigate the association between birth weight and dementia risk and the mediating roles of chronic diseases, and to assess potential biological pathways underlying the birth weight-associated dementia risk based on large-scale proteomics. Methods: We used data from 279743 participants aged 40 to 69 years enrolled in the UK Biobank. Birth weight was categorized into low birth weight (≤ 2500 g), normal birth weight (2500-3999 g), and macrosomia (≥ 4000 g). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the associations between birth weight categories and all-cause dementia and its subtypes (Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia). Proteomics analyses were conducted to identify proteins and the potential pathways involved. Results: for nonlinearity < 0.001). Certain cardiometabolic diseases in middle-aged adults, such as diabetes, stroke, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, played a significant mediating role in the relationship between low birth weight and dementia risk, with the mediation proportion being 6.3% to 15.8%. Proteomic analyses identified 21 proteins linked to both low birth weight and all-cause dementia risk, which were significantly enriched in the pathways for viral protein interaction with cytokines and cytokine receptors, adipocytokine signaling, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Conclusion: Low birth weight is positively associated with dementia risk. Cardiometabolic diseases in middle-aged adults may mediate the relationship between low birth weight and dementia risk. A number of proteins and the associated pathways underscore the relationship between low birth weight and dementia risk.
Source: PubMed
DOI: 10.12182/20250560503
Authors: Xinyue Yu, Qingping Xue, Jingyi Li, Peiqi Zhang, Qingqing Ouyang, Xiaoxue Luo, Qian He, Yongliu Wang, Ying Zhao, Xiangwang He, Fan Li, Yunhaonan Yang, Xiongfei Pan
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4414341081
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