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Recognition of a sequence: more growth before birth, longer telomeres at birth, more lean mass after birth
Author(s) -
Zegher F.,
Díaz M.,
LopezBermejo A.,
Ibáñez L.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
pediatric obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.226
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 2047-6310
pISSN - 2047-6302
DOI - 10.1111/ijpo.12137
Subject(s) - medicine , telomere , gestational age , lean body mass , birth weight , small for gestational age , body mass index , obstetrics , pediatrics , pregnancy , endocrinology , body weight , biology , genetics , dna
Summary Background Telomere length at birth is a major determinant of telomere length in late adulthood. However, the prenatal setting of telomere length is poorly understood. Individuals born large from non‐diabetic mothers are at lower risk for later‐life disorders than those born small, a feature of their longer health span being a higher lean mass that provides more muscle strength and that is already present in infancy. Methods At birth, we studied leukocyte telomere length (by quantitative polymerase chain reaction) in 103 small‐for‐gestational‐age, appropriate‐for‐gestational‐age or large‐for‐gestational‐age (SGA, AGA or LGA) infants born after uncomplicated, term, singleton pregnancies. All infants were breastfed for ≥4 months. At 2 weeks and 12 months, body composition was assessed by dual X‐ray absorptiometry. Results Telomere lengths were shorter in SGA newborns and longer in LGA newborns than in AGA newborns ( P < 0.001), also after adjustment for maternal age, pre‐gestational body mass index, gestational weight gain and gestational age. Telomere length at birth associated (all P ≤ 0.001) to birthweight ( r = 0.50) and to both lean mass ( r = 0.43) and fat mass ( r = 0.48) at age 2 weeks, but only to lean mass at 12 months ( r = 0.51). Conclusion Higher weight and longer telomeres at birth are followed by more lean mass in late infancy. Relatively large, breastfed infants from non‐diabetic mothers may become models of how to make a healthy start.