Birth Weight and Acute Childhood Leukemia: A Meta-analysis of Observational Studies

Abstract

The major objective of this study was to determine whether high birth weight is associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) among children, and to quantify the strength of the relationships. The author conducted a meta-analysis of nine case-control studies (published between 1991 and 2004) encompassing over 6,200 children with ALL and over 12,000 controls. She found that children weighing 4,000 grams or more at birth had 24% (OR: 1.24; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.37) higher odds of developing ALL than children weighing less (without consideration to reference weight). Regardless of peer-review status, response rates among cases and controls, or choice of threshold for high birth weight, studies consistently demonstrated a similar overall odds ratio ranging from 1.23 to 1.29. In addition, the data analysis identified possible reasons for inconsistent findings among previous studies that examined high birth weight as a risk factor for ALL. Possible explanations include the use of different reference birth weights, different data sources for birth weight (i.e., birth certificate vs. interview), and different ethnic makeup of the study population. The data supports the growing evidence for the link between high birth weight and childhood ALL. Women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy should know that unbounded weight gain may increase the odds of childhood ALL in their baby. Whether a positive association with high birth weight applies to AML is less clear from the results. Based on a meta-analysis of only three case-control studies (published between 1997 and 2004) involving over 700 children with AML and over 1,900 controls, high birth weight (greater than or equal to 4,000 grams) appeared to increase the odds of developing AML by 14% (OR: 1.14; 95% CI: 0.84, 1.54).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 22, 2005
Accession Number
ADA435461

Entities

People

  • Jean Taylor

Organizations

  • Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Blood
  • Body Weight
  • Cells
  • Data Analysis
  • Databases
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Health Services
  • Information Science
  • Ionizing Radiation
  • Leukocytes
  • Lymphatic Diseases
  • Lymphocytes
  • Metabolic Diseases
  • Neoplasms
  • Public Health
  • Statistical Tests
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

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  • Systems Analysis and Design
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