Reviews
28 November 2022
Vol. 16 No. 1 (2022)
Low birth weight, nephron number and chronic kidney disease
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
2158
Views
600
Downloads
391
HTML
Authors
Chronic kidney diseases have a significant impact on morbidity and mortality worldwide. Low birth weight, fetal growth restriction and prematurity are indicators of fetal growth and development disorders associated with a congenital reduction in nephron number, which predisposes to an increased risk for chronic kidney disease. On an individual basis, a small nephron number at birth is not always enough to determine the onset of chronic kidney disease, but it decreases the ability of the kidneys to resist any insults to renal tissue that may occur later in life, such as exposure to nephrotoxic drugs or episodes of acute kidney injury. The high incidence of low birth weight and preterm birth globally suggests that, at the population level, the impact of alterations in fetal development on the subsequent onset of chronic kidney disease could be significant. The implementation of strategies aimed at reducing the incidence of prematurity, fetal growth restriction, as well as other conditions that lead to low birth weight and a reduced nephron number at birth, provides an opportunity to prevent the development of chronic kidney disease in adulthood. For these purposes the coordinated intervention of several specialists, including obstetricians, gynecologists, neonatologists, nephrologists, and family doctors, is necessary. Such strategies can be particularly useful in resource-poor countries, which are simultaneously burdened by maternal, fetal and child malnutrition; poor health; epidemics caused by communicable diseases; and little access to screening and primary care.
Altmetrics
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Citations
GBD 2019 Diseases and Injuries Collaborators. Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet 2020;396:1204-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30925-9
Barker DJ, Winter PD, Osmond C, et al. Weight in infancy and death from ischemic heart disease. Lancet 1989;2:577-80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(89)90710-1
Barker DJ, Osmond C, Simmonds SJ, Wield GA. The relation of small head circumference and thinness at birth to death from cardiovascular disease in adult life. BMJ 1993;306:422-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.306.6875.422
Zetterström K, Lindeberg S, Haglund B, et al. Being born small for gestational age increases the risk of severe pre-eclampsia. BJOG 2007;114:319-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2006.01231.x
Whincup PH, Kaye SJ, Owen CG, et al. Birth weight and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review. JAMA 2008;300:2886-97. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2008.886
Crump C, Sundquist J, Winkleby MA, Sundquist K. Preterm birth and risk of chronic kidney disease from childhood into mid-adulthood: national cohort study. BMJ 2019;365:l1346. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l1346
Martín-Calvo N, Goni L, Tur JA, Martínez JA. Low birth weight and small for gestational age are associated with complications of childhood and adolescence obesity: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev 2022;23 Suppl 1:e13380. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13380
Hoy WE, Nicol JL. The Barker hypothesis confirmed: association of low birth weight with all-cause natural deaths in young adult life in a remote Australian Aboriginal community. J Dev Orig Health Dis 2019;10:55-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S2040174417000903
Luyckx VA, Brenner BM. Birth weight, malnutrition and kidney-associated outcomes--a global concern. Nat Rev Nephrol 2015;11:135-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2014.251
Blencowe H, Krasevec J, de Onis M, et al. National, regional, and worldwide estimates of low birthweight in 2015, with trends from 2000: a systematic analysis. Lancet Glob Health 2019;7:e849-60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30565-5
Fallach N, Segal Y, Agassy J, et al. Pregnancy outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infection by trimester: A large, population-based cohort study. PLoS One 2022;17:e0270893. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270893
Puelles VG, Hoy WE, Hughson MD, et al. Glomerular number and size variability and risk for kidney disease. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens 2011;20:7-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/MNH.0b013e3283410a7d
Hughson M, Farris AB, Douglas-Denton R, et al. Glomerular number and size in autopsy kidneys: the relationship to birth weight. Kidney Int 2003;63:2113-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1755.2003.00018.x
Hinchliffe SA, Lynch MR, Sargent PH, et al. The effect of intrauterine growth retardation on the development of renal nephrons. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1992;99:296-301. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1992.tb13726.x
Brenner BM, Garcia DL, Anderson S. Glomeruli and blood pressure. Less of one, more the other? Am J Hypertens 1988;1:335-47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajh/1.4.335
Vehaskari VM, Aviles DH, Manning J. Prenatal programming of adult hypertension in the rat. Kidney Int 2001;59:238-45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1755.2001.00484.x
Celsi G, Kistner A, Aizman R, et al. Prenatal dexamethasone causes oligonephronia, sodium retention, and higher blood pressure in the offspring. Pediatr Res 1998;44:317-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199809000-00009
de Jong F, Monuteaux MC, van Elburg RM, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of preterm birth and later systolic blood pressure. Hypertension 2012;59:226-34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.111.181784
Mu M, Wang SF, Sheng J, et al. Birth weight and subsequent blood pressure: a meta-analysis. Arch Cardiovasc Dis 2012;105:99-113. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acvd.2011.10.006
Lewington S, Clarke R, Qizilbash N, et al. Age-specific relevance of usual blood pressure to vascular mortality: a meta-analysis of individual data for one million adults in 61 prospective studies. Lancet 2002;360:1903-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11911-8
Hemachandra AH, Howards PP, Furth SL, Klebanoff MA. Birth weight, postnatal growth, and risk for high blood pressure at 7 years of age: results from the Collaborative Perinatal Project. Pediatrics 2007;119:e1264-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-2486
Bowers K, Liu G, Wang P, et al. Birth weight, postnatal weight change, and risk for high blood pressure among Chinese children. Pediatrics 2011;127:e1272-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-2213
Keller G, Zimmer G, Mall G, Ritz E, Amann K. Nephron number in patients with primary hypertension. N Engl J Med 2003;348:101-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa020549
Hoy WE, Hughson MD, Singh GR, et al. Reduced nephron number and glomerulomegaly in Australian Aborigines: a group at high risk for renal disease and hypertension. Kidney Int 2006;70:104-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ki.5000397
Hughson MD, Douglas-Denton R, Bertram JF, Hoy WE. Hypertension, glomerular number, and birth weight in African Americans and white subjects in the southeastern United States. Kidney Int 2006;69:671-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ki.5000041
Hoy WE, Bertram JF, Denton RD, et al. Nephron number, glomerular volume, renal disease and hypertension. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens 2008;17:258-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/MNH.0b013e3282f9b1a5
Kanzaki G, Puelles VG, Cullen-McEwen LA, et al. New insights on glomerular hyperfiltration: a Japanese autopsy study. JCI Insight 2017;2:94334. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.94334
Denic A, Lieske JC, Chakkera HA, et al. The substantial loss of nephrons in healthy human kidneys with aging. J Am Soc Nephrol 2017;28:313-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2016020154
Sasaki T, Tsuboi N, Kanzaki G, et al. Biopsy-based estimation of total nephron number in Japanese living kidney donors. Clin Exp Nephrol 2019;23:629-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10157-018-01686-2
Luyckx VA, Brenner BM. Clinical consequences of developmental programming of low nephron number. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2020;303:2613-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24270
Selewski DT, Charlton JR, Jetton JG, et al. Neonatal Acute Kidney Injury. Pediatrics 2015;136:e463-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-3819
Jetton JG, Askenazi DJ. Update on acute kidney injury in the neonate. Curr Opin Pediatr 2012;24:191-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0b013e32834f62d5
Zappitelli M, Ambalavanan N, Askenazi DJ, et al. Developing a neonatal acute kidney injury research definition: a report from the NIDDK neonatal AKI workshop. Pediatr Res 2017;82:569-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2017.136
Goldstein SL, Dahale D, Kirkendall ES, et al. A prospective multi-center quality improvement initiative (NINJA) indicates a reduction in nephrotoxic acute kidney injury in hospitalized children. Kidney Int 2020;97:580-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2019.10.015
Rhone ET, Carmody JB, Swanson JR, Charlton JR. Nephrotoxic medication exposure in very low birth weight infants. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2014;27:1485-90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/14767058.2013.860522
Salerno SN, Liao Y, Jackson W, et al. Association between nephrotoxic drug combinations and acute kidney injury in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. J Pediatr 2021;228:213-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.08.035
Stoops C, Stone S, Evans E, et al. Baby NINJA (Nephrotoxic Injury Negated by Just-in-Time Action): reduction of nephrotoxic medication-associated acute kidney injury in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. J Pediatr 2019;215:223-8.e6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.08.046
Wu Y, Wang H, Pei J, et al. Acute kidney injury in premature and low birth weight neonates: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pediatr Nephrol 2022;37:275-87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-021-05251-0
Carmody JB, Swanson JR, Rhone ET, Charlton JR. Recognition and reporting of AKI in very low birth weight infants. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2014;9:2036-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.05190514
Perico N, Askenazi D, Cortinovis M, Remuzzi G. Maternal and environmental risk factors for neonatal AKI and its long-term consequences. Nat Rev Nephrol 2018;14:688-703. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-018-0054-y
South AM, Nixon PA, Chappell MC, et al. Renal function and blood pressure are altered in adolescents born preterm. Pediatr Nephrol 2019;34:137-44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-018-4050-z
Schreuder MF, Wilhelm AJ, Bökenkamp A, et al. Impact of gestational age and birth weight on amikacin clearance on day 1 of life. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2009;4:1774-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.02230409
Bacchetta J, Harambat J, Dubourg L, et al. Both extrauterine and intrauterine growth restriction impair renal function in children born very preterm. Kidney Int 2009;76:445-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ki.2009.201
Lillås BS, Tøndel C, Aßmus J, Vikse BE. Low birthweight is associated with lower glomerular filtration rate in middle-aged mainly healthy women. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2021;37:92-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfaa306
Khalsa DDK, Beydoun HA, Carmody JB. Prevalence of chronic kidney disease risk factors among low birth weight adolescents. Pediatr Nephrol 2016;31:1509-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-016-3384-7
Das SK, Mannan M, Faruque ASG, et al. Effect of birth weight on adulthood renal function: A bias-adjusted meta-analytic approach. Nephrology (Carlton) 2016;21:547-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nep.12732
Hoy WE, Swanson CE, Mott SA. Birthweight and the prevalence, progression, and incidence of CKD in a multideterminant model in a high-risk Australian aboriginal community. Kidney Int Rep 2021;6:2782-93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ekir.2021.08.010
Painter RC, Roseboom TJ, van Montfrans GA, et al. Microalbuminuria in adults after prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine. J Am Soc Nephrol 2005;16:189-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2004060474
Kashiwagi Y, Agata K, Yamanaka G, Kawashima H. A case of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in a young girl with a very low birth weight. Pediatr Rep 2022;14:166-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pediatric14020022
Hodgin JB, Rasoulpour M, Markowitz GS, D’Agati VD. Very low birth weight is a risk factor for secondary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2009;4:71-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.01700408
Ikezumi Y, Suzuki T, Karasawa T, et al. Low birthweight and premature birth are risk factors for podocytopenia and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Am J Nephrol 2013;38:149-57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000353898
Hirano D, Ishikura K, Uemura O, et al. Association between low birth weight and childhood-onset chronic kidney disease in Japan: a combined analysis of a nationwide survey for pediatric chronic kidney disease and the National Vital Statistics Report. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2016;31:1895-900. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfv425
Hsu CW, Yamamoto KT, Henry RK, et al. Prenatal risk factors for childhood CKD. J Am Soc Nephrol 2014;25:2105-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2013060582
White SL, Perkovic V, Cass A, et al. Is low birth weight an antecedent of CKD in later life? A systematic review of observational studies. Am J Kidney Dis 2009;54:248-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ajkd.2008.12.042
Gjerde A, Skrunes R, Reisæter AV, et al. Familial contributions to the association between low birth weight and risk of CKD in adult life. Kidney Int Rep 2021;6:2151-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ekir.2021.05.032
Eriksson JG, Salonen MK, Kajantie E, Osmond C. Prenatal growth and CKD in older adults: longitudinal findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, 1924-1944. Am J Kidney Dis 2018;71:20-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ajkd.2017.06.030
Gjerde A, Lillås BS, Marti HP, et al. Intrauterine growth restriction, preterm birth and risk of end-stage renal disease during the first 50 years of life. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2020;35:1157-63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfaa001
Low Birth Weight and Nephron Number Working Group. The impact of kidney development on the life course: a consensus document for action. Nephron 2017;136:3-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000457967
Orskov B, Christensen KB, Feldt-Rasmussen B, Strandgaard S. Low birth weight is associated with earlier onset of end-stage renal disease in Danish patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Kidney Int 2012;81:919-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ki.2011.459
Ruggajo P, Svarstad E, Leh S, et al. Low birth weight and risk of progression to end stage renal disease in IgA nephropathy--a retrospective registry-based cohort study. PLoS One 2016;11:e0153819. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153819
Duncan RC, Bass PS, Garrett PJ, Dathan JR. Weight at birth and other factors influencing progression of idiopathic membranous nephropathy. Nephrol Dial Transplant 1994;9:875.
Teeninga N, Schreuder MF, Bökenkamp A, et al. Influence of low birth weight on minimal change nephrotic syndrome in children, including a meta-analysis. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2008;23:1615-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfm829
Rajan T, Barbour SJ, White CT, Levin A. Low birth weight and nephron mass and their role in the progression of chronic kidney disease: a case report on identical twins with Alport disease. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2011;26:4136-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfr252
Macias Diaz DM, Corrales Aguirre MDC, Reza Escalera AL, et al. Histologic characterization and risk factors for persistent albuminuria in adolescents in a region of highly prevalent end-stage renal failure of unknown origin. Clin Kidney J 2022;15:1300-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ckj/sfac018
Luyckx VA, Perico N, Somaschini M, et al. A developmental approach to the prevention of hypertension and kidney disease: a report from the Low Birth Weight and Nephron Number Working Group. Lancet 2017;390:424-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30576-7
Good Maternal Nutrition - The best start in life. Available from: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/313667/Good-maternal-nutrition-The-best-start-in-life.pdf?ua=1 Accessed: 25 July 2022.
Chaturvedi S, Ng KH, Mammen C. The path to chronic kidney disease following acute kidney injury: a neonatal perspective. Pediatr Nephrol 2017;32:227-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-015-3298-9
How to Cite
Low birth weight, nephron number and chronic kidney disease. (2022). Italian Journal of Medicine, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/itjm.2022.1538
Copyright (c) 2022 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Riccardo Gerloni, Domenico Panuccio, Pregnancy and heart disease: what Internists should know , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 11 No. 3 (2017)
- Mauro Campanini, Giuliano Pinna, Roberto Nardi, on behalf of the FADOI Cardiovascular Prevention Position Statements Group, The FADOI (Federation of Associations of Hospital Doctors on Internal Medicine) position paper on cardiovascular prevention in the higher risk complex patients , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 9 No. 4 (2015)
- Pietro Crispino, Luca Fontanella, Paola Gnerre, Liver diseases and pregnancy , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 11 No. 3 (2017)
- Tiziana M. Attardo, Elena Magnani, Carlotta Casati, Danilo Cavalieri, Pietro Crispino, Federica Fascì Spurio, Stefano De Carli, Daniela Tirotta, Paola Gnerre, Management of celiac disease: from evidence to clinical practice , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 11 No. 4 (2017)
- Iranna Kotturshetti, Basavaraj Vastrad, Veena Kori, Chanabasayya Vastrad, Shivakumar Kotrashetti, Screening of the key genes and signaling pathways for schizophrenia using bioinformatics and next generation sequencing data analysis , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 18 No. 4 (2024)
- Aigerim O. Murzakhmetova, Vitaly B. Kamkhen, Ayagul M. Ainabay, Assel M. Meiramova, Vadim M. Kemaykin, Bayan A. Ainabekova, Association of β2 microglobulin level and glomerular filtration rate in patients with acute leukemia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 17 No. 1 (2023)
- Francesca Salvotti, Riccardo Pellegrinelli, Veronica Geroldi, Francesca Leidi, Vittorio Scipione, Gigliola Flamminio, Antonella Pastori, Claudia Agabiti-Rosei, Carolina De Ciuceis, Damiano Rizzoni, Gianluca Edoardo Mario Boari, Long-term impact of COVID-19 requiring elevated oxygen support and safety of prolonged positive pressure ventilation , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 17 No. 3 (2023)
- Federico Silvestri, Samantha Pasca, Marco Zaramella, Antonella Labombarda, Andrea Barbi, Mauro Desideri, Paolo Guidi, Adolfo Rogato, Matteo Bergamo, Giovanni Barillari, Safety and efficacy of thromboprophylaxis with fondaparinux in elderly acutely ill medical patients with renal impairment: a retrospective single center study , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 7 No. 4 (2013)
- Fadhilah Arnan, Maisuri T. Chalid, Monika Fitria Farid, Efendi Lukas, Ellen Wewengkang, Vitamin D and intrauterine growth restriction: a cross-sectional study , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 18 No. 4 (2024)
- Michele Meschi, Ezio Degli Esposti, Luca Degli Esposti, Francesca Spagnoli, Pasquale Gianluca Giuri, Enrico Fiaccadori, Alberto Caiazza, Referral to sub-specialists: who have the most to gain from early specialist intervention among patients with markers of renal disease? , Italian Journal of Medicine: Vol. 8 No. 3 (2014)
1-10 of 872
Next
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.