No difference in the association between birth weight and total cholesterol for males and females. A SHARP (Scottish Heart and Arterial Disease Risk Prevention) study

We carried out a cohort study in a relatively young healthy working population to assess any difference between males and females in the association between birth weight and adult total cholesterol. Perinatal data came from the Walker database of babies born between 1952 and 1966 in Dundee, Scotland. This was record-linked to information from the SHARP (Scottish Heart and Arterial Risk Prevention) cohort who had undergone a cardiovascular risk screening between 1991 and 1993. There were 1158 individuals (56% male, mean age 32.1 years). For both males and females there was no association between birth weight and cholesterol either unadjusted or after adjustment for BMI and other potential confounders: B = -0.11 (95% CI -0.03, 0.04) for males, B = -0.15 (95% CI -0.31, 0.01) for females. All individuals together showed a slight decrease in cholesterol for 1 kg increase in birth weight but only after adjustment for BMI: B = -0.13 (95% CI -0.24, -0.01). These results suggest no difference in the relationship between birth weight and total cholesterol for males and females.