Abstract
Maternal dietary quality during pregnancy is associated with offspring outcomes. These associations have not been examined in three-generation families. We investigated associations between parental and grandparental dietary quality, determined by healthy eating index (HEI)-2015, and offspring birth outcomes and weight status at age 5. The Lifeways cohort study in the Republic of Ireland comprises 1082 index-child’s mothers, 333 index-child’s fathers, and 707 grandparents. HEI-2015 scores were generated for all adults from prenatal dietary information collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. In an adjusted model, greater adherence to the maternal HEI was associated with lower likelihood of low birth weight (LBW) (OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.50–0.99, p = 0.04). Similarly, maternal grandmothers (MGM) with higher HEI scores were less likely to have grandchildren with LBW (OR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.61–0.96, p = 0.04) and more likely to have macrosomia (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.01–1.22, p = 0.03). Higher paternal and paternal grandmothers (PGM) HEI scores were associated with lower likelihood of childhood obesity (OR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.30–0.94, p = 0.03) and overweight (OR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.22–0.99, p = 0.04), respectively. Mediation analysis showed significant direct relationship of MGM and PGM HEI scores on grandchildren’s birthweight and obesity, respectively. In conclusion, maternal line dietary quality appears to influence fetal growth whereas paternal line dietary quality appears to influence postnatal growth.
Highlights
Maternal diet plays an important role in determining birth outcomes and offspring health [1,2].the specific dietary requirements for optimal fetal growth and development remain unknown.Familial associations may influence offspring growth and development outcomes through shared lifestyle and social environments [3], including diet, heritable genetic and epigenetic mechanisms [4], and for maternal lines in particular, intra-uterine and mitochondrial pathways [5]
Mothers with higher healthy eating index (HEI) scores were less likely to have delivered infants with low birth weight (LBW) and had lower likelihood of post-term birth in the continuous adjusted model
In this analysis we show that higher HEI-2015 scores were associated with lower risk of LBW in the maternal and maternal grandmothers (MGM) lines, whereas higher paternal and paternal grandmother (PGM) dietary quality predicted lower risk of childhood overweight and obesity at age five
Summary
Maternal diet plays an important role in determining birth outcomes and offspring health [1,2].the specific dietary requirements for optimal fetal growth and development remain unknown.Familial associations may influence offspring growth and development outcomes through shared lifestyle and social environments [3], including diet, heritable genetic and epigenetic mechanisms [4], and for maternal lines in particular, intra-uterine and mitochondrial pathways [5]. According to the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis, transient early life exposures, including intrauterine nutrition, during critical periods of development, such as pregnancy, may alter normal physiology affecting offspring health in later life [3]. Such long-term consequences may not be limited to one generation but may lead to adverse health outcomes in future generations even in the absence of the exposure, and these patterns may contrast in maternal and paternal lines [6,7].
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