Physical Activity During Pregnancy And Offspring Characteristics At 8-10 Years

Abstract

Few investigators have examined the influence of pregnancy physical activity (PA) on offspring characteristics in childhood. PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationships between perinatal factors (birth weight, pregnancy PA) and offspring systolic blood pressure (SBP), body mass index (BMI), and aerobic fitness (VO2max) at age 8-10 years while also considering childhood PA. METHODS: Study participants (n=16 mother/child pairs) were members of a cohort who were studied previously during pregnancy 8 -10 years ago. Resting SBP (Dinamap), height, weight, and percent fatness (BodPod) were measured on both the mother and her child. Women and children performed treadmill tests to maximum voluntary exhaustion to determine VO2max. Birth weight was abstracted from previous records. Pre-pregnancy, trimester-specific and average pregnancy PA (kcal/kg/wk) were calculated from historical recall surveys. Mothers rated their children's PA level (0-10 scale) at age 4 yrs, 6 yrs, and currently. Relationships between perinatal factors and offspring characteristics were evaluated via Spearman correlations and linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Child SBP was related to third trimester PA (rs= -0.622, p=0.016), child PA at 4yrs (rs= -0.498, p=0.050), and current child PA (rs= -0.735, p=0.001). In multivariable regression analyses, child PA at 4 yrs and current PA remained significantly related to child SBP (R2=0.637). Second trimester (rs = -0.534, p=0.033), third trimester (rs = -0.501, p=0.048), and average pregnancy PA (rs = -0.502, p=0.048) were significantly related to child BMI, as were maternal VO2max (rs = -0.526, p=0.036), and maternal BMI (rs = 0.532, p=0.034); however, none of these were significant predictors in multivariable regression. Child VO2max was related to pre-pregnancy PA (rs= 0.506, p=0.046) and child percent fat (rs= -0.596, p=0.016). Neither remained significant in multivariable regression. Birth weight was related to child SBP (rs= -0.752, p=0.031) only among children of mothers who did not meet PA recommendations during pregnancy (n=8; < 7.5 kcal/kg/wk). CONCLUSIONS: These pilot data suggest that PA during pregnancy may be related to child SBP and BMI at 8-10 years of age. Pregnancy PA may also disrupt associations between birth weight and child SBP.