Offspring birth weight and parental cardiovascular mortality

Results The covariate-adjusted HR and 95% confidence interval (CI) of CVD mortality for 1 standard deviation higher offspring birth weight was reduced (HR ¼ 0.89; 95% CI: 0.85–0.94) for mothers, but less obvious for fathers (HR ¼ 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95–1.00). Analyses of the categorical offspring birth weights revealed that the association between bearing low-birth-weight offspring (<2500 g) and CVD mortality was also stronger in mothers (adjusted HR ¼ 1.85; 95% CI: 1.67–2.18) than in fathers (adjusted HR ¼ 1.13; 95% CI: 1.03–1.24). On standardizing the birth weight for gestational age, the observed associations persisted, although these associations were relatively weak. Conclusions This large cohort analysis confirmed that the bearing of smaller size infants is associated with a stronger elevated risk for CVD mortality in mothers than in fathers. Women who have had a lower birthweight offspring can be targeted for CVD-prevention measures.