Gestational weight gain in normal weight women and offspring cardio-metabolic risk factors at 20 years of age

• Published in: International Journal of Obesity Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 671 - 676
• Main Authors: Hrolfsdottir, L, Rytter, D, Olsen, S F, Bech, B H, Maslova, E, Henriksen, T B, Halldorsson, T I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.04.2015; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/308/174; 692/499; 692/699/2743/393; 692/699/75; 692/700/2814; Adolescent; Adult; Adult Children; Age; Anthropometry; Body Mass Index; Body size; Body weight; Body weight gain; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - genetics; Cardiovascular Diseases - physiopathology; Confidence intervals; Denmark - epidemiology; Epidemiology; Female; Females; Follow-Up Studies; Food science; Gender aspects; Gender differences; Glucose metabolism; Guidelines as Topic; Health aspects; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Homeostasis; Hormones; Hospitals; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Insulin; Insulin Resistance; Internal Medicine; Leptin; Lifestyles; Lipid metabolism; Lipids; Male; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - genetics; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Metabolic Syndrome - epidemiology; Metabolic Syndrome - genetics; Metabolic Syndrome - physiopathology; Metabolism; Midwifery; Mothers; Newborn infants; Nutrition research; Obesity; Offspring; original-article; Overweight; Physical exercise; Physiological aspects; Pregnancy; Pregnancy complications; Prenatal Care; Public Health; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Regression models; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Sex differences; Statistical analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Weight gain; Weight Gain - physiology; Women; Womens health; Denmark; United States > US; Iceland; Aarhus Denmark
• ISSN: 0307-0565; 1476-5497
• DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2014.179

Objective: Limited knowledge exists on the long-term implications of maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) on offspring health. Our objective was to examine whether high GWG in normal weight women is associated with adult offspring cardio-metabolic risk factors. Methods: We used a cohort of 308 Danish women who gave birth in 1988–89 and whose offspring participated in a clinical examination at 20 years of age. Main outcome measures were offspring body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, weight-regulating hormones, blood lipids and glucose metabolism. Associations were assessed using multivariable linear and logistic regression models. Results: A weak positive association was observed between GWG during the first 30 weeks and offspring anthropometry. Each 1-kg increase in maternal GWG was associated with 0.1-kg m −2 higher (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01, 0.2) offspring BMI and 10% (95% CI: 0.1%, 20%) higher odds of offspring overweight at the age of 20 years, with similar associations observed in both sexes. However, sex differences were observed for the association between maternal GWG and specific cardio-metabolic risk factors. Hence, a 1-kg increase in GWG was associated with 3.4% (95% CI; 0.8, 6.0%) higher homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), 3.7% (95% CI: 1.4%, 6.2%) higher insulin and 10.7% (95% CI: 5.7%, 15.9%) higher leptin levels in male offspring. These associations were not observed in females, which may partly be explained by more frequent reports of dieting and physical exercise at follow-up among female offspring. Conclusions: In normal-weight women, high GWG may have modest long-term implications on offspring cardio-metabolic risk factors at adult age.