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Background: Approximately one third of thromboembolic (TE) events are related to obesity, but to which extent elevated body mass index (BMI) during the distinct periods of childhood and puberty contributes is not known. We aimed to evaluate the impact of high BMI during childhood and puberty for the risk of adult venous and arterial thromboembolic events (VTE, ATE, respectively) in men. Methods: We included 37,672 men from the BMI Epidemiology Study (BEST) Gothenburg with data on weight and height in childhood, young adult age, and on pubertal BMI change. Information on outcomes (VTE [n = 1683], ATE [n = 144], or any first TE event [VTE or ATE; n = 1780]) was retrieved from Swedish national registers. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by Cox regressions. Results: Both BMI at 8 years of age and the pubertal BMI change were associated with VTE, independently of each other (BMI at 8: HR 1.06 per standard deviation [SD] increase, 95% CI, 1.01;1.11; pubertal BMI change: HR 1.11 per SD increase, 95% CI, 1.06;1.16). Individuals with normal weight during childhood followed by young adult overweight (HR 1.40, 95% CI, 1.15;1.72), and individuals with overweight at both childhood and young adult age (HR 1.48, 95% CI, 1.14;1.92), had a significantly increased risk of VTE in adult life, compared with the normal weight reference group. Individuals with overweight in childhood and in young adult age had increased risk of ATE and TE. Conclusion: Young adult overweight was a strong determinant, and childhood overweight a moderate determinant, of the risk of VTE in adult men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of pubertal BMI change in adult‐onset concomitant asthma and allergic rhinitis is unknown. Objective: We investigated the association of childhood and young adult BMI, and pubertal BMI changes with adult‐onset asthma, allergic rhinitis, and concomitant asthma and rhinitis in Swedish men. Methods: The BMI Epidemiology Study in Gothenburg, Sweden, comprised of height and weight measures taken from school health records (6.5‐9.5 years) and during military conscription (17.5‐22 years) for all men born 1945‐1961 (n = 37 652). Age‐adjusted childhood BMI centred at 8 years and young adult BMI at 20 years were linked to high quality data on asthma and allergic rhinitis diagnoses from the Swedish National Patient Register. Findings: High BMI (4th quartile vs the two median quartiles) at 8 years was associated with increased risk of concomitant asthma and allergic rhinitis (HR 1.45; 95% CI 1.00‐2.11). Overweight (HR 1.45; 95% CI 1.12‐1.89) and obesity (HR 1.95; 95% CI 1.08‐3.54) at 20 years were associated with increased risk of asthma without concomitant allergic rhinitis as main or auxiliary diagnosis. Pubertal BMI change showed a non‐linear association, so that both low (1st quartile vs the two median quartiles) and high pubertal BMI changes were associated with increased risk of asthma (low: HR 1.36; 95% CI 1.11‐1.68; high: HR 1.32; 95% CI 1.07‐1.63) and asthma without concomitant allergic rhinitis (low: HR 1.33; 95% CI 1.04‐1.69; high: HR 1.36; 95% CI 1.07‐1.74) as a main diagnosis. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Both low and high pubertal BMI changes are predictors of adult‐onset asthma in men, particularly asthma without concomitant allergic rhinitis. Primary prevention of adult‐onset asthma requires monitoring of changes in BMI during puberty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the association between birth weight and the risk of adult stroke in men, independent of body mass index (BMI) at young adult age.Study Design: We included 35 659 men born between 1945 and 1961 from the BMI Epidemiology Study with data on birth weight together with BMI in childhood (8 years) and young adulthood (20 years). Information on stroke events (1184 first stroke events; 905 ischemic stroke [IS] events and 234 intracerebral hemorrhage [ICH] events) was retrieved from national registers in Sweden.Results: Birth weight was inversely associated with the risk of stroke (IS, ICH and uncategorized together; hazard ratio [HR], 0.88 per SD increase, 95% CI, 0.84-0.93), IS, and ICH in a linear manner, independent of young adult BMI. This association was maintained when the analysis was restricted to individuals within the normal birth weight range only. Moreover, individuals with a birth weight in the lowest tertile followed by overweight at 20 years had an 81% greater risk of stroke (HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.29; 2.54), compared with a reference group of individuals with birth weight in the middle tertile who were of normal weight at age 20 years.Conclusions: We demonstrate an inverse association between birth weight and the risk of adult stroke, IS, and ICH independent of young adult BMI. These findings suggest that low birth weight should be included in assessments of stroke risk in adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]