Objectives
To 1) determine whether perinatal factors (including maternal anthropometry and nutrition and early life growth measures) are associated with adiponectin and leptin levels in 9-year-old children, and 2) assess relationships between adiponectin, leptin and concurrent lipid profile in these children.
Methods
We measured plasma adiponectin and leptin for 146 mother - 9-year-old child pairs from the ongoing longitudinal birth cohort followed by the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS). Data on perinatal factors, including sociodemographics, maternal anthropometry and nutrition, and early life child growth were collected during pregnancy, birth and 6-month visits.
Results
Greater rate of weight and length gain during the first 6 months of life were associated with lower adiponectin in 9-year-olds (β=−2.0, P=0.04; β=−8.2, P=0.02, respectively) adjusting for child BMI. We found no associations between child adipokine levels and either maternal calorie, protein, total fat, saturated fat, fiber, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption during pregnancy or children’s concurrent sugar-sweetened beverage and fast food intake. Lipid profile in 9-year-old children closely reflected adiponectin but not leptin levels after adjustment for child BMI. Additionally, we report that child adipokine levels were closely related to their mothers’ levels at the 9-year-visit.
Conclusion
Overall, our results support the hypothesis that early life factors may contribute to altered adipokine levels in children.
