Smaller children are at increased risk of stroke in adulthood

The risk of stroke is influenced by childhood size

Does the size of children affect their future health? In some cases, apparently. Researchers now found that smaller children are at an increased risk of stroke in adulthood.

Researchers at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, found that smaller children have an increased risk of stroke later in life. The physicians published the results of their study in "Stroke" the English-language journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers examined more than 300,000 children

The prospective study examined the data of more than 300,000 Danish schoolchildren, all of whom were born between the years 1930 and 1990. These children were examined at the ages of seven, ten and thirteen.

Two to three centimeters with decisive effect

Researchers found that boys and girls two to three centimeters taller than the average of children at that age were at increased risk of ischemic stroke from clots. This increased likelihood applied to adult men and women. Men also had an increased risk for a so-called hemorrhagic infarct when they were smaller than the average boys.

Which factors determine the size??

While adult size is predominantly genetic, it is also influenced by factors such as maternal nutrition during pregnancy, child nutrition, infections, and mental stress. Some of these factors are modifiable and all influence the risk of stroke, explain the authors.

Same mechanisms for size and stroke risk?

The researchers found in the study that a decrease in the frequency of strokes and mortality rates in most high-income countries, especially in women, coincided with a general increase in adult size. Taken together, this suggests that the same underlying mechanisms affect both the development of size and the risk of stroke, explain the physicians.

Results facilitate understanding of the development of strokes

The findings of the study have greater implications for understanding the origin of the disease than they have for clinical risk prediction, the researchers say. Future studies should focus on the mechanisms underlying the relationship between childhood size and a later risk of stroke.

Risk factors of those affected should be reduced

"Our study suggests that a smaller body size in children is a potential marker of stroke risk, and these children should pay particular attention to modifying or treating modifiable risk factors for strokes to reduce the likelihood of the disease," explains Prof. Dr. Jennifer L. Baker of the University of Copenhagen in a press release from the American Heart Association. (As)