Abstract
Intrauterine factors influence infant size and body composition but the mechanisms involved are to a large extent unknown. We studied relationships between the body composition of pregnant women and variables related to their glucose homeostasis, i.e., glucose, HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance), hemoglobin A1c and IGFBP-1 (insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1), and related these variables to the body composition of their infants. Body composition of 209 women in gestational week 32 and of their healthy, singleton and full-term one-week-old infants was measured using air displacement plethysmography. Glucose homeostasis variables were assessed in gestational week 32. HOMA-IR was positively related to fat mass index and fat mass (r2 = 0.32, p < 0.001) of the women. Maternal glucose and HOMA-IR values were positively (p ≤ 0.006) associated, while IGFBP-1was negatively (p = 0.001) associated, with infant fat mass. HOMA-IR was positively associated with fat mass of daughters (p < 0.001), but not of sons (p = 0.65) (Sex-interaction: p = 0.042). In conclusion, glucose homeostasis variables of pregnant women are related to their own body composition and to that of their infants. The results suggest that a previously identified relationship between fat mass of mothers and daughters is mediated by maternal insulin resistance.
Highlights
Overweight and obesity in childhood are severe health problems [1] and factors early in life, for example a high birth weight [2], may promote their development
As mentioned above, published research indicates that glucose homeostasis during pregnancy influences fetal growth and infant body composition [3], and the concentration of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1) in the circulation of pregnant women has been linked to fetal growth [8,9] but there are no studies regarding its relationship with infant body composition
Each glucose homeostasis variable was significantly related to all these body composition variables
Summary
Overweight and obesity in childhood are severe health problems [1] and factors early in life, for example a high birth weight [2], may promote their development. As mentioned above, published research indicates that glucose homeostasis during pregnancy influences fetal growth and infant body composition [3], and the concentration of IGFBP-1 in the circulation of pregnant women has been linked to fetal growth [8,9] but there are no studies regarding its relationship with infant body composition. This protein is of interest since its concentration in the circulation is inversely correlated with that of insulin and it is involved in glucose homeostasis [10]. In our previous study [4] body composition of pregnant women and infants was assessed by means of air displacement plethysmography, a more accurate estimate of body fatness
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