Maternal BMI, glycaemia linked to childhood adiposity

Midpregnancy maternal body mass index (BMI) and glycaemia show an independent and additive association with direct adiposity measures in children aged 10–14 years, suggests a study. The combination of maternal obesity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) correlates with the highest risk of childhood adiposity.

The primary predictors of childhood adiposity were maternal BMI and glucose, as continuous and categorical variables. Maternal BMI was significantly and positively associated with all childhood adiposity outcomes in fully adjusted models controlling for child age, sex, field centre, and maternal characteristics, while maternal glycaemia significantly and positively correlated with childhood adiposity outcomes, except BMI.

Joint analyses revealed the association of maternal obesity and GDM, compared with a nonobese, non-GDM reference group, with a higher risk of childhood overweight/obese BMI (maternal obesity: odds ratio [OR], 3.00, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 2.42–3.74; GDM: OR, 1.39, 95 percent CI, 1.14–1.71); combined OR, 3.55, 95 percent CI, 2.49–5.05), obese BMI (maternal obesity: OR, 3.54, 95 percent CI, 2.70–4.64; GDM: OR, 1.73, 95 percent CI, 1.29–2.30; combined: OR, 6.10, 95 percent CI, 4.14–8.99), percent body fat >85th percentile (maternal obesity: OR, 2.35, 95 percent CI, 1.83–3.00; GDM: OR, 1.75, 95 percent CI, 1.37–2.24; combined: OR, 3.66, 95 percent CI, 2.55–5.27), and waist circumference >85th percentile (maternal obesity: OR, 2.52, 95 percent CI, 1.99–3.21; GDM: OR, 1.39, 95 percent CI, 1.07–1.80; combined: OR, 4.18, 95 percent CI, 2.93–5.96).

In this epidemiological study, the authors conducted the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) between 2000 and 2006 and the HAPO Follow-up Study between 2013 and 2016. In total, 4,832 children were included. Adiposity measures for BMI, body fat with air displacement plethysmography, skinfold thickness, and waist circumference were obtained in the participants at mean age of 11.4 years.