Since studies show that an unfavorable
environment during intrauterine development predisposes individuals to several
diseases in adulthood, our objective is to assess the relation between
fetal growth restriction and
chronic renal disease in
adults. We searched four different
electronic databases through November 2017 CENTRAL, EMBASE,
LILACS and
MEDLINE. We selected studies with longitudinal or transversal designs associating
kidney function in adulthood with
low birth weight. Two reviewers evaluated the inclusion criteria and the
risk of
bias and extracted data from the included
papers. Thirteen studies were selected for the
systematic review and
meta-analysis. We observed increased
risks of presenting
end-stage renal disease (
risk ratio 1.31, 95%
confidence interval 1.17, 1.47), a lower
glomerular filtration rate (ml/min) (mean difference 7.14; 95%
confidence interval -12.12, -2.16), microalbuminuria (
risk ratio 1.40; 95%
confidence interval 1.28, 1.52) and a small increase in the
albumin/
creatinine ratio (mean difference 0.46; 95%
confidence interval 0.03, 0.90) in the
low birth weight patients, compared with
control group. These findings suggest that
low birth weight is associated with renal dysfunction in
adults.