Maternal Pregnancy Body Mass Index Research Articles

Association between prenatal cadmium exposure and cord blood DNA methylation

Prenatal cadmium exposure is known to affect infant growth and organ development. Nonetheless, the role of DNA methylation in cadmium-related health effects has yet to be determined. To this end, we investigated the relationship between prenatal cadmium exposure and cord blood DNA methylation in Korean infants through an epigenome-wide association study. Cadmium concentrations in maternal blood during early and late pregnancy and in cord blood collected from newborns were measured using atomic adsorption spectrometry and DNA methylation analysis was conducted using HumanMethylationEPIC BeadChip kits. After adjusting for infant sex, maternal pregnancy body mass index, smoking status, and estimated leukocyte composition, we analyzed the association between CpG methylation and cadmium concentration in 364 samples. Among 835,252 CpG sites, maternal blood cadmium concentration in early pregnancy was significantly associated with two differentially methylated CpG sites, cg05537752 and cg24904393, which were annotated ATP9A and no gene, respectively. The study findings indicate that prenatal cadmium exposure is significantly associated with methylation statuses of several CpG sites and regions in Korean infants, especially during early pregnancy.

Maternal body mass index in pregnancy and mental disorders in adult offspring: a record linkage study in Aberdeen, Scotland

Maternal obesity in pregnancy predicts offspring psychopathology risk in childhood but it remains unclear whether maternal obesity or underweight associate with adult offspring mental disorders. We examined longitudinally whether maternal body mass index (BMI) in pregnancy predicted mental disorders in her offspring and whether the associations differed by offspring birth year among 68,571 mother–child dyads of Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal Databank, Scotland. The offspring were born 1950–1999. Maternal BMI was measured at a mean 15.7 gestational weeks and classified into underweight, normal weight, overweight, moderate obesity and severe obesity. Mental disorders were identified from nationwide registers carrying diagnoses of all hospitalizations and deaths in Scotland in 1996–2017. We found that maternal BMI in pregnancy was associated with offspring mental disorders in a time-dependent manner: In offspring born 1950–1974, maternal underweight predicted an increased hazard of mental disorders [Hazard Ratio (HR) = 1.74; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.01–3.00)]. In offspring born 1975–1999, maternal severe obesity predicted increased hazards of any mental (HR 1.60; 95% CI 1.08–2.38) substance use (HR 1.91; 95% CI 1.03–3.57) and schizophrenia spectrum (HR 2.80; 95% CI 1.40–5.63) disorders. Our findings of time-specific associations between maternal prenatal BMI and adult offspring mental disorders may carry important public health implications by underlining possible lifelong effects of maternal BMI on offspring psychopathology.

Principal Component Analysis of Birth Weight of Child, Maternal Pregnancy Weight and Maternal Pregnancy Body Mass Index: A Multivariate Analysis

Background: Birth weight, maternal body mass index and maternal weight is perhaps the most important and reliable indicator for neonatal and infant survival as well as their physical growth and mental development. The main objective of this study was identifying the determinants of birth weight, maternal body mass index and maternal weight simultaneously based on Ethiopia demographic health survey 2016 which implemented in statistical package R. Methods: Cross sectional study design was used from Ethiopia demographic health survey 2016. From principal component model shows the total population variance of first two components were 97% of the variation then the two components replace the original three responses variables birth weight, maternal body mass index and maternal weight without much loss of information. Therefore bi-variate linear regression model was used to identify factors that affect the first two principal components of birth weight, maternal body mass index and maternal weight simultaneously. Results: This study shows family size, region, frequency of read newspaper, frequency of watch television and preferred waiting time for birth were statistically significant at 5% level of significance for first principal component. In addition, size of child, region and maternal age group are statistically significant for second principal components of birth weight of child, maternal pregnancy weight and maternal pregnancy body mass index in Ethiopia. Conclusion: From this finding family size, region, frequency of read newspaper, and frequency of watch television, size of child, maternal age group and preferred waiting time were significant predictors of the first two principal components simultaneously. Hence,-intervention should be given to the pregnant during antenatal care for minimizing the risk.

Time-Dependent Effects of Maternal Body Mass Index in Pregnancy on Mental Disorders in Adult Offspring: A Record Linkage Study in Aberdeen, Scotland

Background: Maternal obesity in pregnancy predicts offspring psychopathology risk in childhood but evidence is scarce and conflicting on whether maternal obesity or underweight predict adulthood mental disorders. Methods: We examined longitudinally whether maternal body mass index (BMI) in pregnancy was associated with mental disorders in her offspring born 1950-1999, and whether the associations differed by child birth year, among 68571 mother-child dyads of Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal Databank, Scotland. Maternal BMI was measured at a mean 15.7 gestational weeks and classified into underweight, normal weight, overweight, moderate obesity and severe obesity. Mental disorders were identified from nationwide health registers carrying diagnoses of all hospitalizations and deaths in Scotland in 1996-2017. Outcomes: Independently of maternal mental disorders and other covariates, maternal BMI was associated with offspring mental disorders in a time-dependent manner. In offspring born 1950-1974, maternal underweight predicted the hazard of mental disorders [Hazard Ratio(HR)=1.74, 95% Confidence Interval(CI)=1.01-3.00). In offspring born 1975-1999, maternal severe obesity predicted increased hazards of any mental disorder (HR=1.60, 95% CI=1.08-2.38), substance use (HR=1.91, 95% CI=1.03-3.57) and schizophrenia spectrum (HR=2.80, 95% CI=1.40-5.63) disorders. Interpretation: Our findings support the developmental origins of health and disease framework by showing time-specific associations between maternal BMI in pregnancy and mental disorders in adult offspring. Considering the marked rise in obesity prevalence, the findings carry important public health implications by underlining the possible effects of maternal nutrition on offspring mental disorders across the lifespan. Funding Statement: Academy of Finland, European Commission EraNet Neuron, University of Helsinki. We acknowledge the support of the British Heart Foundation (RE/18/5/34216) and Tommy’s. Declaration of Interests: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethics and Governance approvals were obtained from the NHS Scotland's Public Benefit and Privacy Panel for Health and Social Care (Reference 516-0594) and the AMND steering committee.

Determine Joint Factors that Affect Maternal Weight and Body Mass Index Among Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: A Bi-variate Analysis

Introduction: A low maternal body mass index and sub-optimal weight gain during pregnancy are long recognized risk factors for delivery of infants too small for gestational age, low birth weight as well as to increase the risk of subsequent obesity and hypertension in the off- spring. Maternal body mass index and maternal weight is positively associated with infant obesity risk. The main objective of this research was to determine the determinants of maternal body mass index and maternal weight simultaneously based on Ethiopia demographic health survey 2016 which was implemented in statistical package R. Methodology: Cross sectional study design was used from Ethiopia demographic health survey 2016. Bi-variate linear regression model was used to determine the factors that affect maternal body mass index and maternal weight simultaneously. Result: The bi-variate analysis of maternal pregnancy weight and body mass index identified that the co-variate husband educational level, preferred waiting time for birth, region, family size, frequency of watching television, maternal height, desire for more children and number of tetanus injections before pregnancy were statistically associated with maternal pregnancy weight. Moreover, educational level of husband, preferred waiting time for birth, region, family size, desire for more children, frequency of watching television and number of tetanus injections before pregnancy were statistically significant for maternal pregnancy body mass index in Ethiopia (p≤0.05). Conclusion: The risk of over pregnancy weight and body mass index increased when parent prefer high number of waiting time to birth another child in Ethiopia. In addition the risk of over pregnancy weight and body mass index increased when mother received more tetanus injection during pregnancy.

Using Genetic Variation to Explore the Causal Effect of Maternal Pregnancy Adiposity on Future Offspring Adiposity: A Mendelian Randomisation Study.

BackgroundIt has been suggested that greater maternal adiposity during pregnancy affects lifelong risk of offspring fatness via intrauterine mechanisms. Our aim was to use Mendelian randomisation (MR) to investigate the causal effect of intrauterine exposure to greater maternal body mass index (BMI) on offspring BMI and fat mass from childhood to early adulthood.Methods and FindingsWe used maternal genetic variants as instrumental variables (IVs) to test the causal effect of maternal BMI in pregnancy on offspring fatness (BMI and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry [DXA] determined fat mass index [FMI]) in a MR approach. This was investigated, with repeat measurements, from ages 7 to 18 in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; n = 2,521 to 3,720 for different ages). We then sought to replicate findings with results for BMI at age 6 in Generation R (n = 2,337 for replication sample; n = 6,057 for total pooled sample).In confounder-adjusted multivariable regression in ALSPAC, a 1 standard deviation (SD, equivalent of 3.7 kg/m2) increase in maternal BMI was associated with a 0.25 SD (95% CI 0.21–0.29) increase in offspring BMI at age 7, with similar results at later ages and when FMI was used as the outcome.A weighted genetic risk score was generated from 32 genetic variants robustly associated with BMI (minimum F-statistic = 45 in ALSPAC). The MR results using this genetic risk score as an IV in ALSPAC were close to the null at all ages (e.g., 0.04 SD (95% CI -0.21–0.30) at age 7 and 0.03 SD (95% CI -0.26–0.32) at age 18 per SD increase in maternal BMI), which was similar when a 97 variant generic risk score was used in ALSPAC.When findings from age 7 in ALSPAC were meta-analysed with those from age 6 in Generation R, the pooled confounder-adjusted multivariable regression association was 0.22 SD (95% CI 0.19–0.25) per SD increase in maternal BMI and the pooled MR effect (pooling the 97 variant score results from ALSPAC with the 32 variant score results from Generation R) was 0.05 SD (95%CI -0.11–0.21) per SD increase in maternal BMI (p-value for difference between the two results = 0.05). A number of sensitivity analyses exploring violation of the MR results supported our main findings. However, power was limited for some of the sensitivity tests and further studies with relevant data on maternal, offspring, and paternal genotype are required to obtain more precise (and unbiased) causal estimates.ConclusionsOur findings provide little evidence to support a strong causal intrauterine effect of incrementally greater maternal BMI resulting in greater offspring adiposity.

The effect of maternal pregnancy body mass index as a measure of pregnancy weight gain on neonatal birth weight in Maiduguri metropolitan council of Borno state, Nigeria

Aim: The effect of maternal pregnancy body mass index as a measure of pregnancy weight gain on neonatal birth weight outcome in the labor ward of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. Methods: One hundred and four mother-neonatal pairs were selected using systematic random sampling method. Maternal pregnancy body mass index was calculated from maternal weight and height using the formula maternal body weight divided by the square of maternal height in kilogram/meter square (kg/m 2 ), and neonatal birth weight was assessed using the bassinet weighing scale. Chi-square test of association was used to investigate the effect of maternal pregnancy BMI on neonatal birth weights. Results : There were 55 (52.9 %) males and 49 (47.1 %) females. The male to female ratio is 1.1:1. The mean (SD) neonatal birth weight was 3.02 (0.58), 95 CI (2.91 - 3.14), whereas the mean (SD) maternal pregnancy body mass index was 23.69 (4.33), 95 CI (22.84 - 24.53). Association between neonatal birth weight and maternal body mass index was not significant (χ 2 = 0.974, p = 0.614) in this study. Conclusion: Our work has demonstrated that maternal pregnancy BMI may not contribute significantly to birth weight outcome of neonates. However, further research in this regard is hereby recommended.

Retrospective analysis of maternal and infant birth features of hepatoblastoma patients

To explore the risk factors for hepatoblastoma. A case-cohort study using Logistic regression multiple variables analysis of medical record data sets was conducted to examine infant and perinatal risk factors for hepatoblastoma. Birth weight less than 1,000 g was associated with a strongly increased risk of hepatoblastoma (odds risk, OR = 26.0, 95% confidence interval, CI: 14.0 to 65.7). After adjustment of birth weight, a moderately increased risk of hepatoblastoma was found for older maternal age ( > 35 years vs. 20 to 34 years: OR = 2.6, 95% CI: 0.9 to 5.9), maternal smoking (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.2) and higher maternal pregnancy body mass index (OR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.0 to 6.7). Very low birth weight and maternal characteristics including overweight, smoking are associated with hepatoblastoma risk.

Maternal obesity in pregnancy and respiratory health in early childhood

Obesity is associated with systemic inflammation, immunological changes, increased risk of respiratory infections and chronic respiratory illness. Maternal obesity in pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy complications, caesarean sections and adverse birth outcomes, which have in turn been associated with respiratory illness in children. To our knowledge, the possible influence of maternal obesity in pregnancy on respiratory illness in early childhood beyond the newborn period has not been explored. We examined the relationship between a high maternal body mass index (BMI) in pregnancy and lower respiratory tract infections and wheeze up to 18 months of age in the Norwegian Mother and Child Study (MoBa), a population-based cohort study that includes 100,000 pregnant women, conducted at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. We analysed data from the first 33 192 children, born between 1999 and 2005. In unadjusted analyses maternal obesity in pregnancy was related to both respiratory infections and wheeze in the children. In multivariable analyses, only an effect on wheeze remained. The risk of wheeze increased linearly with maternal BMI in pregnancy, and was 3.3% higher [95% CI 1.2, 5.3] for children with mothers who were obese during pregnancy, than for children of mothers with normal BMI. This effect was not mediated through obesity-related pregnancy complications, low birthweight, preterm birth or caesarean section.

Maternal anthropometrics are associated with fetal size in different periods of pregnancy and at birth. The Generation R Study

We aimed to examine the associations of maternal anthropometrics with fetal weight measured in different periods of pregnancy and with birth outcomes. Population-based birth cohort study. Data of pregnant women and their children in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 8541 mothers, height, prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain were available. Fetal growth was measured by ultrasound in mid- and late pregnancy. Regression analyses were used to assess the impact of maternal anthropometrics on fetal weight and birth outcomes. Fetal weight and birth outcomes: weight (grams) and the risks of small (<5th percentile) and large (>95th percentile) size for gestational age at birth. Maternal BMI in pregnancy was positively associated with estimated fetal weight during pregnancy. The effect estimates increased with advancing gestational age. All maternal anthropometrics were positively associated with fetal size (P-values for trend <0.01). Mothers with both their prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain quartile in the lowest and highest quartiles showed the highest risks of having a small and large size for gestational age child at birth, respectively. The effect of prepregnancy BMI was strongly modified by gestational weight gain. Fetal growth is positively affected by maternal BMI during pregnancy. Maternal height, prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain are all associated with increased risks of small and large size for gestational age at birth in the offspring, with an increased effect when combined.

Obesity from cradle to grave.

Obesity is known to track from early life into adult life. To examine the relation of obesity in adult life to growth and living conditions during childhood. Birth cohort study. A total of 4515 people (2135 men and 2380 women) who were born at Helsinki University Central Hospital between 1934 and 1944, who attended child welfare clinics and were still resident in Finland in the year 2000. Incidence of obesity based upon lifetime maximum body mass index (BMI) ascertained from a postal questionnaire and defined as a BMI>or=30 kg/m(2). The main explanatory measurements were size at birth, childhood growth, and socioeconomic status in childhood and in adult life. The cumulative incidence of obesity was 33.8% in men and 32.4% in women. The incidence rose with increasing body size at birth. From birth the mean weight and BMI of people who later became obese exceeded the average and remained above average at a statistically significant level at all ages from 6 months to 12 y. Childhood BMI was a stronger predictor of adult obesity than body size at birth. A higher maternal BMI in pregnancy was associated with a more rapid childhood growth and an increased risk of becoming obese in adult life. Higher socioeconomic status and better educational attainment were associated with a lower prevalence of obesity. There was no association between the duration of breastfeeding and later obesity. These results emphasize the importance of early life factors in the pathogenesis of adult obesity.