@misc{TianReichetzederLietal.2019,
  author    = {Tian, Mei and Reichetzeder, Christoph and Li, Jian and Hocher, Berthold},
  title     = {Low birth weight, a risk factor for diseases in later life, is a surrogate of insulin resistance at birth},
  series = {Journal of hypertension},
  volume    = {37},
  journal   = {Journal of hypertension},
  number    = {11},
  publisher = {Kluwer},
  address   = {Philadelphia},
  issn      = {0263-6352},
  doi       = {10.1097/HJH.0000000000002156},
  pages     = {2123 -- 2134},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Low birth weight (LBW) is associated with diseases in adulthood. The birthweight attributed risk is independent of confounding such as gestational age, sex of the newborn but also social factors. The birthweight attributed risk for diseases in later life holds for the whole spectrum of birthweight. This raises the question what pathophysiological principle is actually behind the association. In this review, we provide evidence that LBW is a surrogate of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance has been identified as a key factor leading to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease as well as kidney diseases. We first provide evidence linking LBW to insulin resistance during intrauterine life. This might be caused by both genetic (genetic variations of genes controlling glucose homeostasis) and/or environmental factors (due to alterations of macronutrition and micronutrition of the mother during pregnancy, but also effects of paternal nutrition prior to conception) leading via epigenetic modifications to early life insulin resistance and alterations of intrauterine growth, as insulin is a growth factor in early life. LBW is rather a surrogate of insulin resistance in early life - either due to inborn genetic or environmental reasons - rather than a player on its own.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LiWangSchlemmetal.2011,
  author    = {Li, Jian and Wang, Zi-Neng and Schlemm, Ludwig and Pfab, Thiemo and Xiao, Xiao-Min and Chen, You-Peng and Hocher, Berthold},
  title     = {Low birth weight and elevated head-to-abdominal circumference ratio are associated with elevated fetal glycated serum protein concentrations},
  series = {Journal of hypertension},
  volume    = {29},
  journal   = {Journal of hypertension},
  number    = {9},
  publisher = {Lippincott Williams \& Wilkins},
  address   = {Philadelphia},
  issn      = {0263-6352},
  doi       = {10.1097/HJH.0b013e328349a2e6},
  pages     = {1712 -- 1718},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Objective To analyze the association between low birth weight, head-to-abdominal circumference ratio, and insulin resistance in early life. Method and results Glycated serum proteins (GSPs) were quantified at delivery in 612 Chinese mother/child pairs serving as a surrogate of maternal and fetal glycemia. Differential ultrasound examination of the fetal's body (head circumference, biparietal diameter, pectoral diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length) was done in average 1 week prior to delivery. Multivariable regression analysis considering gestational age at delivery, the child's sex, maternal BMI, maternal age at delivery, maternal body weight, and pregnancyinduced hypertension revealed that fetal GSP was inversely associated with birth weight (R(2) = 0.416; P < 0.001). Fetal GSP was furthermore positively associated with the head-to-abdominal circumference ratio, whereas the maternal GSP was negatively correlated with the offspring's head-to-abdominal circumference ratio (R(2) = 0.285; P = 0.010 and R(2) = 0.261; P = 0.020, respectively). The increased head-to-abdominal circumference ratio in newborns with higher fetal GSP is mainly due to a reduced abdominal circumference rather than reduced growth of the brain. Conclusion The disproportional intrauterine growth is in line with the concept of so-called brain sparing, a mechanism maintaining the intrauterine growth of the brain at the expense of trunk growth. Our data suggest that the low birth weight phenotype, linked to cardiovascular diseases like hypertension in later life, might be a phenotype of disproportional intrauterine growth retardation and early life insulin resistance.},
  language  = {en}
}