Does Low Birth Weight Cause Osteoporosis In Adulthood?

A new study claims that some children who were born prematurely may have higher chances of developing weaker bones when they reach adulthood. Also, this study claims that low birth weight could also up the risk of suffering osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis implies brittle and weak bones. In fact, calcium gets transferred from the mother to the baby during the final stages of pregnancy. This occurs for the bone development in the foetus.

So, a baby who is born prematurely may miss this advantage as the process of calcium transfer may get disturbed. This could finally lead to brittle bones later on.

This study says that many adults who had a premature birth displayed lower bone mass and this condition could trigger osteoporosis. When researchers compared the peak bone mass with other adults who had a normal birth, they came to find a link between premature birth and bones mass.

The study finally claims that babies born with less weight or those who were born prematurely could have a higher risk of brittle bones as they age. More than 180 adults were examined. Their age group was around 27 years.

Some of the participants were born with low birth weight whereas the rest were born with normal weight. Also, there were some who were prematurely born among them.

After measuring their peak bone masses and comparing the data, researchers opined that premature birth and low birth weight could impact the bone mass as one ages.