Volume 199 - Issue 11
Birthweight and fasting glucose and insulin levels: results from the Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study
Authors: Susan M Sayers and Gurmeet R Singh
Med J Aust 2013; 199 (11): 744. || doi: 10.5694/mja13.11120
Published online: 16 December 2013
Published online: 16 December 2013
In reply: We agree with Thurber that analyses were conducted within the framework of the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis; however, we did not conclude that “interventions to ‘improve’ birthweight would be ineffective in reducing the prevalence of diabetes”. In line with the hypothesis, we included adolescent as well as birth factors, and suggested that strategies to improve lifestyle factors in childhood and ...
In reply: We agree with Thurber that analyses were conducted within the framework of the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis; however, we did not conclude that “interventions to ‘improve’ birthweight would be ineffective in reducing the prevalence of diabetes”. In line with the hypothesis, we included adolescent as well as birth factors, and suggested that strategies to improve lifestyle factors in childhood and adolescence, rather than those focusing on birthweight alone, are likely to be the most effective in decreasing the incidence of type 2 diabetes.
We agree that interventions should be based on evidence, but context is relevant. Addressing high birthweight has the potential to reduce chronic disease. However, only 1% of the Aboriginal Birth Cohort were high birthweight (> 4500 g). Even now, over 20 years after cohort recruitment, the Indigenous national proportion of high birthweight is 2.9%, with the remote proportion as low as 1.9%.1
Competing interests
No relevant disclosures.
References
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2012: detailed analyses. Canberra: AIHW, 2013. (AIHW Cat. No. IHW 94.) http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/ ?id=60129543821 (accessed Nov 2013).