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. 2025 Feb 7;122(3):65–70. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.m2024.0253

Table 2. Growth data by polygenic BMI risk score deciles.

Decile of the polygenic
BMI risk score
Decile 1
n = 50
Deciles 2–9
n = 408
Decile 10
n = 50
Effect size per decile
[95% CI]
p
Follow-up at 5 to 7 years of age
 – Weight (kg) 17.7 (2.8) 18.7 (2.3) 21.0 (4.0) +0.24 +[0.14; +0.34]
 – Height (cm) 112 (7) 113 (6) 116 (6) +0.26 [+0.07;+ 0.44]
 – BMI (kg/m2) 14.1 (1.2) 14.6 (1.5) 15.6 (6) +0.11 [+0.07; +0.16]
 – BMI z-score* –1.1 (1.0) –0.7 (1.0) –0.1 (1.1) +0.07 [+0.04; +0.10]
Follow-up at 10 to 14 years of age
 – Weight (kg) 38.0 (9.0) 41.0 (11.0) 47.2 (13.3) +0.71 +[0.37; +1.04]
 – Height (cm) 152 (10) 151 (10) 152 (10) +0.09 [−0.22; +0.40]
 – BMI (kg/m2) 16.3 (2.6) 17.8 (3.1) 20.2 (4.5) +0.29 [+0.19; +0.39]
 – BMI z-score* –1.2 (1.2) –0.3 (1.1) +0.5 (1.2) +0.12 [+0.08; +0.16] 7.1 × 10−11
 – Body fat (kg) 7.8 (5.3) 9.4 (5.4) 12.5 (7.7) +0.40 [+0.23; +0.57]
 – Grip strength (kg) 20 (6) 20 (6) 20 (6) −0.01 [−0.19; +0.18]

*The BMI z-score indicates the deviation from the median of the general population in standard deviations. At the age of 12, the BMI for boys is 17.99 kg/m2 and for girls 18.19 kg/m2. At this age, the threshold for obesity (which was exceeded by only 2.8% of the prematurely born individuals in our study) is for boys at a BMI of 25.44 kg/m2 and for girls at a BMI of 25.47 kg/m2 (13). Prematurely born individuals in decile 10 with a BMI of 20.2 kg/m2 are +0.5 standard deviations above the expected average, while prematurely born individuals in decile 1 are -1.2 standard deviations below it. All figures (except for effect size) are mean values (± standard deviation).

BMI, body mass index