Adults Born Preterm Sibling study

We study mechanisms that link preterm birth at very low birth weight with adult health. To do so, we compare adults born preterm at very low birth weight with their siblings born at term. 79 same sex sibling pairs were included in the study, with one being born preterm at very low birth weight (< 1500 grams) and the other at term. The very low birth weight individuals were born between 1978–1990 in Finland’s capital region, areas surrounding Turku and Tampere, or in Northern Finland.
Between 2014–2017 the sibling pairs underwent extensive clinical examinations over several days (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological examination, tissue- and blood samples, exercise and muscle strength testing). Further information regarding their birth, pregnancy and childhood development was collected from hospital and patient records.

We have analyzed epigenome-wide DNA methylation from blood, adipose and muscle tissue with Infinium Human Methylation EPIC BeadChip array (850 K) v1.0. Anthropometrics were measured and a 2-h 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed. Health related behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity, was collected via questionnaires. Physical fitness was measured with incremental cycle ergometer test.