No abstract

Integration of placental biomarkers in an environmental epidemiological context enables researchers to address fundamental questions essential in unraveling the fetal origin of disease and helps to better define the pregnancy exposome of air pollution.

IMPORTANCE Maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) has previously been associated with offspring cardiometabolic risk factors, such as fat mass, glucose and insulin levels, and blood pressure, but these associations appear to be largely mediated by offspring BMI. To our knowledge, no studies have assessed alterations in the retinal microvasculature in association with maternal prepregnancy BMI.OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between maternal prepregnancy BMI and anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, and retinal vessel parameters in children age 4 to 6 years. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Participants included mother-child pairs of the population-based Environmental Influence on Early Aging (ENVIRONAGE) birth cohort study (Flanders, Belgium)