1. ¹Post-Graduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil
2. ²Nutrition and Public Health Intervention Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
3. ³Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil
4. ⁴Brazilian Army, Tuiuti Regiment- 8th Motorised Infantry Brigade, Pelotas, RS, Brazil

Correspondence: A Nazmi, Social Medicine, Post-Graduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Avenida Duque de Caxias, 250 Pelotas, RS 96030-002, Brazil. E-mail: anazmi@gmail.com

Received 7 November 2005; Revised 3 July 2006; Accepted 30 July 2006; Published online 27 September 2006.

Abstract

The fetal origins hypothesis states that nutritional deprivation in utero affects fetal development and contributes to the incidence of diseases associated with the metabolic syndrome in later life. This study investigated whether haemoglobin (Hb) A_1c, an indicator of blood glucose, varied among healthy male adolescents according to their fetal growth rate, in a middle-income setting. Participants were men aged 18 years, belonging to the 1982 Pelotas birth cohort. Complete data, including gestational age and Hb A_1c at age 18 years, were available for 197 individuals. There was an inverse association between mean Hb A_1c and birthweight for the gestational age, but not birthweight alone. The association remained significant after adjustment for family income and mother's education, as well as for body mass index at 18 years (P for trend=0.01 and 0.03, respectively).