Birth Complications Predict Accelerated Aging in Midlife

Telomere length at age 38 years was shorter in people who had prenatal, intrapartum, or neonatal complications.

Is there an objective way to assess an association between perinatal complications and biological indicators of aging by midlife? To address this question, investigators evaluated birth complications and telomere length in midlife in 829 participants of a prospective, longitudinal, birth-cohort study in New Zealand. The cohort was representative of the full range of socioeconomic status in the general population. Prenatal, intrapartum, and neonatal complications were assessed from hospital records. At age 38 years, leukocyte DNA was assayed for telomere length, an indicator of cellular aging. (Telomeres are located at the end of chromosomes and erode as cells divide.) At the same time, two separate groups of observers blinded to actual part…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Birth Complications Predict Accelerated Aging in Midlife

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Reviewing Author