The Perinatal Condition Around Birth and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in the Japanese General Population: The Suita Study

Aim: To investigate the relationship between perinatal condition around birth and cardiovascular risk in later life. Methods: Retrospective data were examined from 1241 city dwellers (521 men, 720 women; age 41–69 years) who had undergone medical examination at a single institution including blood tests and physical measurements from 2007 to 2008. The questionnaire was conducted to determine how perinatal factors affect their lives later. We also selected and studied a total of 28 individuals (12 men and 16 women) specifically about the conformity rate of the breastfeeding method between participants' memories and what was written in the maternal and child health handbooks. Results: The conformity rate of the breastfeeding method between a self-questionnaire and his/her maternal and child health handbook was well correlated (r = 0.73; p < 0.025). Among the data in women who were born at home, HbA1C levels (5.36 ± 0.03 vs. 5.25 ± 0.05 mg/dL, p = 0.03) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (136.0 ± 1.4 vs. 129.3 ± 2.5 mg/dL, p = 0.04) were higher than women who were born at the hospital. Women raised by formula showed higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels than women fed breast milk or a mixture of breast milk and formula (150.2 ± 4.8 vs. 138.7 ± 3.7, 142.5 ± 2.6 mg/dL, p = 0.04). Fasting blood glucose levels at an adult time in men and women born through breech presentation were higher than those by the cephalic presentation (123.2 ± 7.8 vs. 106.8 ± 1.2 mg/dL, p = 0.03). Conclusion: The study proposed that some perinatal conditions around birth such as delivery place, presenting part, and lactation affected especially Japanese women's cardiovascular risks between ages 41 and 69 years.