Maternal overweight but not paternal overweight before pregnancy is associated with shorter newborn telomere length: evidence from Guangxi Zhuang birth cohort in China

Abstract

Background Telomere length (TL) is variable at birth and is inversely associated with body mass index (BMI) in adulthood. A growing number of evidences suggested that a higher maternal pre-pregnancy BMI results in adverse offspring health outcomes, especially shorter newborn TL. However, a newborn’s genetic endowment is equally derived from both parents, the association between parental pre-pregnancy BMI and newborn TL has been rarely discussed. We aimed to determine the association between parental pre-pregnancy BMI and newborn TL. Methods A total of 1082 parent-newborn pairs were recruited from the Guangxi Zhuang Birth Cohort (GZBC). TL in cord blood was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and expressed as the ratio of telomere copy number to single-copy gene number (T/S). A series of linear regressions were performed to assess the associations between parental pre-pregnancy BMI and newborn TL. Results Mothers who were overweight before pregnancy had significantly shorter cord blood telomere length in their newborns than those who were normal weight before pregnancy [percentage change: − 7.96% (95% CI: − 14.49 to − 0.69%; P = 0.032)]. Further analysis of the combined effects of parental weight status on newborn TL showed that TL was significantly shortened among newborns whose mothers were overweight and fathers were of healthy weight when compared with those whose mothers and fathers were both of normal weight [percentage change: − 8.38% (95% CI: − 15.47 to − 0.92%; P = 0.028)]. Subgroup analysis indicated these effects were more pronounced among male newborns and those whose paternal age < 31 years or maternal age ≥ 28 years at delivery. Conclusions Maternal pre-pregnancy overweight, but not paternal pre-pregnancy overweight is associated with shorter newborn TL. Weight control in reproductive women and effective healthy weight management before pregnancy may be of particular benefit for improving longevity and life quality of offspring.

Robust evidence supports a causal link between higher birthweight and longer telomere length: a mendelian randomization study

“…Researchers from the University of Hasselt in Belgium found that (Martens et al, 2016) a significant inverse relationship between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and newborn telomere length, for every one-unit increase in BMI, infant telomeres shortened by an estimated 50 base pairs after adjusting for various maternal and newborn characteristics. A cohort study (Wei et al, 2021) from China also found a relationship between prematernal overweight and shorter neonatal telomeres. The specific mechanisms still require elucidation but could involve pathways influencing metabolism, growth factors, and inflammation (Movérare-Skrtic et al, 2009;Xu et al, 2014;Lv et al, 2022).…”

Longitudinal Association of Telomere Dynamics with Obesity and Metabolic Disorders in Young Children

“…Lazarides et al found shorter TL in newborns from mothers with a pro-inflammatory state [ 54 ], and Wei et al reported a relationship between maternal smoking and short TL in children [ 55 ]. Studies have, furthermore, shown an inverse relationship between the BMI of the mother before pregnancy and the TL of the child [ 56 , 57 ], as well as between gestational diabetes and shorter TL in offspring [ 58 , 59 , 60 ], although these studies did not control for the TL of the mother. McAninch et al also found an association between metabolic syndrome in pregnancy and reduced TL in children at age 10 [ 61 ].…”

Associations between Serum Aflatoxin-B1 and Anemia in Pregnant Women: Evidence from Guangxi Zhuang Birth Cohort in China

“…This study was part of the Guangxi Zhuang Birth Cohort (GZBC), an ongoing prospective birth cohort study of the Zhuang population in Guangxi province, China. The details of this cohort have been described previously [18,19]. In the present study, we extracted cohort data for 994 pregnant women with live singletons from January 2016 to December 2017 for AFB1 exposure in early pregnancy.…”