A Review of the Impact of Maternal Obesity on the Cognitive Function and Mental Health of the Offspring

Contu, Laura; Hawkes, Cheryl A.

doi:10.3390/ijms18051093

Cited by 129 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…Prenatal nutrition may also have lasting effects on child neurodevelopment ( Anjos et al, 2013 ; Lyall et al, 2014 ). While extensive research concerning maternal obesity, gestational weight gain, and child behavior has been conducted [for reviews see ( Rivera et al, 2015 ; Contu and Hawkes, 2017 ; Sanchez et al, 2017 )], less is known about particular types of maternal diets in humans and their effects on early childhood behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Periconceptional Maternal Mediterranean Diet Is Associated With Favorable Offspring Behaviors and Altered CpG Methylation of Imprinted Genes

House

Mendez

Maguire

et al. 2018

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.

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Background: Maternal diet during pregnancy has been shown to influence the child neuro-developmental outcomes. Studies examining effects of dietary patterns on offspring behavior are sparse.Objective: Determine if maternal adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with child behavioral outcomes assessed early in life, and to evaluate the role of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) regulating genomically imprinted genes in these associations.Methods: Among 325 mother/infant pairs, we used regression models to evaluate the association between tertiles of maternal periconceptional Mediterranean diet adherence (MDA) scores derived from a Food Frequency Questionnaire, and social and emotional scores derived from the Infant Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (ITSEA) questionnaire in the second year of life. Methylation of nine genomically imprinted genes was measured to determine if MDA was associated with CpG methylation.Results: Child depression was inversely associated with maternal MDA (Bonferroni-corrected p = 0.041). While controlling for false-discovery, compared to offspring of women with the lowest MDA tertile, those with MDA scores in middle and high MDA tertiles had decreased odds for atypical behaviors [OR (95% CI) = 0.40 (0.20, 0.78) for middle and 0.40 (0.17, 0.92) for highest tertile], for maladaptive behaviors [0.37 (0.18, 0.72) for middle tertile and 0.42 (0.18, 0.95) for highest tertile] and for an index of autism spectrum disorder behaviors [0.46 (0.23, 0.90) for middle and 0.35 (0.15, 0.80) for highest tertile]. Offspring of women with the highest MDA tertile were less likely to exhibit depressive [OR = 0.28 (0.12, 0.64)] and anxiety [0.42 (0.18, 0.97)] behaviors and increased odds of social relatedness [2.31 (1.04, 5.19)] behaviors when compared to low MDA mothers. Some associations varied by sex. Perinatal MDA score was associated with methylation differences for imprinted control regions of PEG10/SGCE [females: Beta (95% CI) = 1.66 (0.52, 2.80) – Bonferroni-corrected p = 0.048; males: -0.56 (-1.13, -0.00)], as well as both MEG3 and IGF2 in males [0.97 (0.00, 1.94)] and -0.92 (-1.65, -0.19) respectively.Conclusion: In this ethnically diverse cohort, maternal adherence to a Mediterranean diet in early pregnancy was associated with favorable neurobehavioral outcomes in early childhood and with sex-dependent methylation differences of MEG3, IGF2, and SGCE/PEG10 DMRs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Periconceptional Maternal Mediterranean Diet Is Associated With Favorable Offspring Behaviors and Altered CpG Methylation of Imprinted Genes

House

Mendez

Maguire

et al. 2018

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.

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“…Many studies have examined the associations between maternal obesity and a wide range of mental health problems of their children, including emotional and behavioral problems [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. In general, these studies support an association between maternal BMI and poor cognitive performance and increased risk of developing depression and anxiety, however, the relationship between maternal obesity and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in their children is currently less clear [ 1 ]. We previously reported that maternal pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 was a risk factor for increased child behavioral problems [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between Fetal Adipokines and Child Behavioral Problems at Preschool Age: The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children’s Health

Minatoya

Itoh

Araki

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Studies have suggested associations between maternal obesity and mental health problems of their children. However, the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. A possible mechanism can be via inflammatory states and the other possible mechanism is metabolic hormone-induced programming. Cross-talk between adipokines, including inflammatory cytokines and metabolic hormones secreted from adipose tissue and the central nervous system needs to be further investigated to elucidate the mechanism. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between fetal adipokine levels and child behavioral problems at preschool age. Cord blood adiponectin, leptin, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels were measured and child behavioral problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at preschool age. Logistic regression models adjusted by related maternal factors were performed to examine the association between cord blood adipokines and child behavioral problems. Three hundred and sixty-one children were included in the final analysis. A significant association between decreased hyperactivity/inattention and increased leptin was found (OR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.06–0.89). Cord blood adiponectin, TNF-α and IL-6 levels were not associated with child behavioral problems. Our findings suggested that cord blood adipokines, particularly, leptin level, may be a predictor of hyperactivity/inattention problems at preschool age.

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“…Current data from human studies support a negative association between prepregnancy maternal obesity and cognitive function of the offspring during childhood, whereas lower cognitive performance is also observed in children as a function of weight gain during pregnancy (43). Physiological mechanisms underlying obesity-related neuropsychological disabilities in the offspring are still unknown, but hormone levels (e.g., insulin, leptin) and epigenetic alterations could have a role (44). We previously showed that both maternal prepregnancy BMI and weight gain during pregnancy significantly affected the levels of cord leptin (15).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cord Leptin is Associated with Neuropsychomotor Development in Childhood

Karakosta

Margetaki

Fthenou

et al. 2019

Obesity

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Objective Leptin is critical for central nervous system development and maturation. This study aimed to evaluate the potential regulatory role of cord leptin in the neuropsychomotor development of children ages 18 months to 6 years. Methods This study included 424 children from a prospective mother‐child cohort (Rhea Study; Crete, Greece) with available cord leptin levels and data on neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months (Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition), 4 years (McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities), and 6 years (Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and Trail Making Test). Multivariable linear regression models were used to explore the associations. Results Each 10‐ng/mL increase in the cord leptin level was associated with increased scores on the gross motor scale at 18 months (β coefficient: 3.8; 95% CI: 0.0‐7.5), with decreased scores in the general cognitive performance (β coefficient: −3.0; 95% CI: −5.5 to −0.4), perceptual performance (β coefficient: −3.4; 95% CI: −6.0 to −9.9), working memory (β coefficient: −3.1; 95% CI: −5.7 to −0.4), executive function (β coefficient −3.1; 95% CI: −5.7 to −0.5), and functions of the posterior cortex (β coefficient: −2.7; 95% CI: −5.2 to −0.1) scales at 4 years, and with a 3.7‐unit decrease in the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices score at 6 years (β coefficient: −3.7; 95% CI: −6.9 to −0.5). Conclusions Increased cord leptin levels are associated with enhanced gross motor development at 18 months but decreased cognitive performance in early and middle childhood.

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A Review of the Impact of Maternal Obesity on the Cognitive Function and Mental Health of the Offspring

Cited by 129 publications

References 97 publications

Periconceptional Maternal Mediterranean Diet Is Associated With Favorable Offspring Behaviors and Altered CpG Methylation of Imprinted Genes

Periconceptional Maternal Mediterranean Diet Is Associated With Favorable Offspring Behaviors and Altered CpG Methylation of Imprinted Genes

Association between Fetal Adipokines and Child Behavioral Problems at Preschool Age: The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children’s Health

Cord Leptin is Associated with Neuropsychomotor Development in Childhood

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