Influence of Birth Weight on White Blood Cell Count in Biracial (Black-White) Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: The Bogalusa Heart Study

The effect of birth weight on white blood cell (WBC) count amongblacks and whites was examined in 2,080 children (aged 4–11years, 57.4% white, and 49.2% male), 892 adolescents (aged 12–17years, 57.2% white, and 50.8% male), and 1,872 adults (aged18–38 years, 68.4% white, and 41.9% male) from Bogalusa,Louisiana, in 2005. After adjustment for age, sex, race, bodymass index, and smoking status (in adolescents and adults),the WBC count decreased across quartiles of increasing birthweight specific for race, sex, and gestational age in children(P_trend = 0.0007) and adults (P_trend = 0.005). In multivariateregression analyses that included the covariates above, birthweight was inversely associated with WBC count in children (βcoefficients (unit, cells/µL per kg) = –256, –241,and –251 for whites, blacks, and the combined sample,with P = 0.003, 0.029, and <0.001, respectively) and in adults(β = –224 and –211 for whites and the combinedsample, with P = 0.015 and 0.008, respectively). These resultsshow that low birth weight is associated with increased systemicinflammation as depicted by the WBC count in childhood and adulthood,thereby potentially linking fetal growth retardation to cardiovasculardisease and diabetes. birth weight; inflammation; leukocyte count