Caesarean delivery is associated with childhood general obesity but not abdominal obesity in Iranian elementary school children
Aim This study examined the association between Caesarean delivery and general and abdominal obesity among children. Methods In a cross‐sectional study, 635 children aged from 6 to 12 years of age (476 girls and 159 boys) were randomly selected from Isfahan elementary schools. Weight, height and wai...
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Published in | Acta Paediatrica Vol. 103; no. 9; pp. e383 - e387 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Norway
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.09.2014
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Aim
This study examined the association between Caesarean delivery and general and abdominal obesity among children.
Methods
In a cross‐sectional study, 635 children aged from 6 to 12 years of age (476 girls and 159 boys) were randomly selected from Isfahan elementary schools. Weight, height and waist circumference were measured. General obesity and abdominal obesity were defined based on World Health Organization growth charts and Iranian national cut‐off points, respectively. Parents were asked about delivery type and other factors potentially related to childhood obesity using a self‐administered questionnaire. The association between delivery type and obesity was examined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.
Results
The overall prevalence of general and central obesity was 17.6% and 17.1%, respectively, and Caesarean delivery was significantly associated with general obesity after controlling for potential confounders (OR: 2.46; 95% CI: 1.30–4.63, p = 0.005). We observed a significant association between Caesarean delivery and abdominal obesity in crude analyses (OR: 1.66; 1.02–2.69, p = 0.04), but this disappeared after adjusting for covariates (OR: 1.96; 0.82–4.69, p = 0.13).
Conclusion
Our results suggest that Caesarean delivery is adversely associated with general childhood obesity, but not abdominal obesity. This provides support for recommending vaginal births, unless contraindicated. Further research in large populations is required to confirm these findings. |
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Bibliography: | ark:/67375/WNG-1HBLT3S8-6 istex:02BB5931F7C95CDAB912A4364D0383402C482653 ArticleID:APA12711 Table S1 General characteristics of the study population according to delivery type1. Table S2 Participant prenatal characteristics according to delivery type1. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0803-5253 1651-2227 |
DOI: | 10.1111/apa.12711 |