Could Your Career Be Influenced By Your Birth Weight?

Could your career be influenced by your birth weight? 

Researchers from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study analyzed extensive information on birth and childhood growth information of 13,500 individuals to see. 

They found that about 20 percent of participants between 1934 and 1944 retired on a disability pension between 1971 and 2011 in Finland, revealing that the leading cause of disability pension was linked to mental disorders, musculoskeletal disorders and cardiovascular diseases.

Further analysis also linked low birth weight to a significantly higher risk of disability pension due to mental disorders, according to researcher von Docent Mikaela von Bonsdorff of the University of Jyväskylä.

"Early exit from the workforce due to a disability pension might be related to non-optimal growth during the fetal period," said Bonsdorff, via a news release. "The average retirement age of cohort members who retired due to mental disorders was 51, whereas other cohort members were able to work 10 years longer. This is a substantial loss to the economy."

"These findings emphasize that early development and growth has various long-term consequences for public health and the economy. Suboptimal intrauterine development might increase susceptibility to adulthood mental disorders causing early exit from the workforce," added Professor Johan Eriksson, the leader of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study from the University of Helsinki, in a news release.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal PLOS ONE. 

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