SynthesisThe journal of nutrition, health & aging2012
Birth weight and muscle strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Associations of Birth Size with Physical and Cognitive Function in Men and Women 60 Years and Older-Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Factors associated with handgrip strength across the life course: A systematic review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Pooled it
- Influence of Preterm Birth and Low Birthweight on Physical Fitness: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of size at birth on health, growth and developmental outcomes in children up to age 18: an umbrella review.Archives of disease in childhood · 2023Pooled it
- Prenatal, birth and early life predictors of sedentary behavior in young people: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2016Pooled it
- Trial
- Association Between Pre-Transplant Psoas Sarcopenia and Perioperative Outcomes in Lung Transplant Recipients: A Single-Centre Retrospective Cohort Study.Interdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery · 2026Article
- Birth size modifies longitudinal associations between midlife educational level and physical function at late-life for men and women.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Adaptive thermogenesis driving catch-up fat during weight regain: a role for skeletal muscle hypothyroidism and a risk for sarcopenic obesity.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2025Review
- Machine learning-based online web calculator predicts the risk of sarcopenic obesity in older adults.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
- Radiological frontiers in understanding paraspinal muscle pathophysiology in chronic low back pain.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Article
- Factors Affecting Handgrip Strength in Menopausal Women at High Risk of Sarcopenia: A National Population-Based Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Exploring the association between grip strength and adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes: A Mendelian randomization study.Heliyon · 2024Article
- The effect of low birth weight as an intrauterine exposure on the early onset of sarcopenia through possible molecular pathways.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Review
- Preterm-Born Young Women Have Weaker Hand Grip Strength Compared to Their Full-Term-Born Peers.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Developmental factors influencing bone strength in precocial mammals: An infant pig model.Journal of anatomy · 2023Article
- Targeting Sarcopenia as an Objective Clinical Outcome in the Care of Children with Spinal Cord-Related Paralysis: A Clinician's View.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Body composition and physical fitness in adults born small for gestational age at term: a prospective cohort study.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveLower muscle strength is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes in later life. The variation in muscle strength between individuals is only partly accounted for by factors in adult life such as body size and physical activity. The aim of this review was to assess the strength of the association between intrauterine development (indicated by birth weight) and subsequent muscle strength.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis of studies that assessed the association between birth weight and subsequent muscle strength.
resultsNineteen studies met inclusion criteria with 17 studies showing that higher birth weight was associated with greater muscle strength. Grip strength was used as a single measure of muscle strength in 15 studies. Meta-analysis (13 studies, 20 481 participants, mean ages 9.3 to 67.5) showed a 0.86 kg (95% CI 0.58, 1.15) increase in muscle strength per additional kilogram of birth weight, after adjustment for age, gender and height at the time of strength measurement.
conclusionThis review has found consistent evidence of a positive association between birth weight and muscle strength which is maintained across the lifecourse. Future work will be needed to elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying this association, but it suggests the potential benefit of an early intervention to help people maintain muscle strength in later life.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.