Birthweight and fasting glucose and insulin levels: results from the Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study

To the Editor: The hypothesis that fetal growth restriction is associated with an increased risk of chronic disease is central to the developmental origins of health and disease paradigm. Inconsistent with this general hypothesis, but consistent with the inconclusive findings from other studies of Indigenous populations,1,2 Sayers and colleagues found no significant association between fetal growth restriction (defined as low birthweight for gestational age) and chronic disease biomarkers in the Aboriginal Birth Cohort at 18 years of age.3 However, the authors observed a significant association between increasing birthweight and factors indicating an elevated diabetes risk: fasting glucose levels, fasting insulin levels (adjusted for current height),3 and body mass index.4