Abstract
Background:
Birth dimensions have been associated with increased risk of both,
severe mental illness and type 2 diabetes in adulthood, however, any
influence on their co-occurrence has never been examined. This cohort
study examine whether birth weight/ponderal index explain or modify the
later association between severe mental illness and risk of type 2
diabetes.
Methods:
The Metropolit cohort included 10,863 Danish men born in 1953 with
information from age at conscription (between1971-84) until February
15th, 2018. Severe mental illness was defined
as the exposure and information was retrieved from the national Danish
health registries. Information on type 2 diabetes diagnosis or oral
antidiabetic prescriptions was also obtained, as they were the outcome
of interest. Information on birth weight/ponderal index was available
from birth certificates. Cox proportional hazards regression models were
used to estimate the associations and interactions were tested.
Results:
After 47.1 years of follow-up, 848 (7.8%) and 1320 (12.2%) men
developed a severe mental illness or diabetes, respectively. Men with
severe mental illness presented higher risk of subsequent diabetes (HR =
1.92; 95%CI, 1.61–2.30). This association was stronger in severe mental
ill men with low birth weight (HR = 3.58; 95%CI, 2.11–6.07), than in
those normal birth weight (HR = 1.79; 95%CI, 1.45–2.20). This effect
modification was most evident for men diagnosed with
schizophrenia.
Conclusions:
Birth information on birth weight/ponderal index could be of
interest in diabetes screening on severe mental ill populations
(especially in schizophrenia) since they might play a critical role in
the increased risk of type 2 diabetes following severe mental
illness.
Self-management interventions for type 2 diabetes in adult people with severe mental illness
