Press Releases

ASI Employees Selected to Exhibit Poster on the Relationship of Intrauterine Growth Retardation to Adult-Onset Adverse Health Outcomes

Guo and Warden studied the gestational age and birth weight of 54,280 subjects in three age groups—from birth to age seven, adolescents ages 12-17 and young adults ages 27-33. Their goal was to determine if there is a relationship between gestational age and birth weight and diabetes mellitus, or other adverse health outcomes such as hypertension. Their study is a follow-up to the U.S. Collaborative Prenatal Project (CPP), which studied the relationship between low birth weight and adult-onset diseases only in children up to age seven.

Guo and Warden's findings support an association between low birth weight and gestational age and hypertension in children and adolescents, as well as an association between low birth weight and gestational age and diabetes mellitus in young adults. The study showed that diabetes mellitus was most prevalent in young adults who were born at an early gestational age and with a low birth weight, particularly if they became overweight.

To conduct their research, Guo and Warden studied subjects in 12 collaborative centers. Using data from a follow-up subject center in Philadelphia, they studied adolescents, ages 12-17. They also studied young adults, ages 27-33, using data collected from a second subject center in Baltimore. They calculated the birth weight for gestational age (BWGA) to determine the intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) status (e.g., <10^th, 10-24^th, and > 25^th percentiles) in small-, marginal- and appropriate-for-gestational age categories.

Guo is a senior epidemiologist in ASI’s Statistics and Public Health Research (SPHR) Division. He provides statistical support for the National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS) in using survey data to determine relationships among environmental exposure and chronic diseases. He earned a Ph.D. in nutritional epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Warden, also an SPHR employee, is senior manager of the division’s Public Health Studies Group. She oversees a staff of 20 epidemiologists, pharmacists, nurses, laboratorians, public health specialists, data entry and administrative staffs who are involved in studies of a variety of clinical laboratory and public health issues. Warden also plans and manages projects in nutrition, infectious disease, clinical laboratory science and laboratory science education. She received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Northeastern University in Boston.

About ASI

ASI is a professional services company dedicated to enhancing human health through innovative science, technology and knowledge solutions. Founded in 1983, ASI conducts research and provides technical and professional services to help government and industry clients identify and solve problems affecting human health. ASI scientists and specialists offer expertise in public health research, research administration and science management, health communications, information technology, scientific data management, biostatistics and clinical research. ASI serves clients in health care and public health, biodefense, science management and research, and civil government markets.