GROWTH IN INFANCY AND BONE MASS IN LATER LIFE

Objective-To examine the association between weight in infancy and bon e mass during the seventh decade of life in a population based cohort for which detailed birth and childhood records were preserved. Methods -189 women and 224 men who were aged 63-73 years and were born in East Hertfordshire underwent bone densitometry by dual energy x ray absorp tiometry. Measurements were also made of serum osteocalcin and urinary excretion of type 1 collagen cross linked N-telopeptide. Results-Ther e were statistically significant associations between weight at 1 year and bone mineral content (but not bone mineral density) at the spine (P < 0.02) and femoral neck (P < 0.01) among women, and spine (P < 0.0 3) among men. Although serum osteocalcin was negatively correlated wit h bone mineral density at both sites among men and women, infant weigh t was not significantly associated with either biochemical marker of b one turnover. Conclusions-These data confirm our previous observations that growth in infancy is associated with skeletal size in adulthood, and suggest that skeletal growth may be programmed during intrauterin e or early postnatal life.