Lifestyle intervention in pregnant women with obesity impacts cord blood DNA methylation, which associates with body composition in the offspring

Abstract

These authors performed a randomized trial of obese pregnant women (n=425) to investigate the effects of a pregnancy lifestyle intervention on epigenetic variations in umbilical cord blood, on neonatal body composition (DXA) and on offspring BMI in later life (up to 3 years). Offspring of mothers who received lifestyle intervention during pregnancy had a higher lean mass (+127g, 95%CI: -5-258g) and a higher abdominal lean mass (+59g, 95%CI: 11-108g) compared to offspring of mothers who received standard care. Furthermore, in umbilical cord blood DNA, 25 sites were differentially methylated according to the pregnancy intervention. 80% of these sites were more methylated in the intervention group and were also positively correlated with neonatal lean mass.