Pre-pregnancy parental BMI and offspring blood pressure in infancy

Abstract

Aims A growing body of evidence suggests that a higher maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index results in higher offspring’s blood pressure, but there is inconsistency about the impact of father’s body mass index. Furthermore, evidence is limited with regard to low and middle income countries. We aimed to determine the association between parental pre-pregnancy body mass index and offspring’s blood pressure during the first year of life. Methods In 587 infants of the BReastfeeding Attitude and Volume Optimization (BRAVO) trial systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured twice at the right leg in a supine position, using an automatic oscillometric device at day 7, month 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12. Parental pre-pregnancy body mass index was based on self-reported weight and height. Linear mixed models were performed to investigate the associations between parental pre-pregnancy body mass index and offspring blood pressure patterns. Results Each unit increase in maternal body mass index was associated with 0.24 mmHg (95% confidence interval 0.05; 0.44) and 0.13 mmHg (0.01; 0.25) higher offspring’s mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, during the first year of life. A higher offspring blood pressure with increased maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index was seen at birth and remained higher during the first year of life. The association with systolic blood pressure remained similar after including birth size and offspring’s weight and height over time. The association with diastolic blood pressure attenuated slightly to a non-significant result after including these variables. Paternal body mass index was not associated with offspring’s blood pressure. Conclusion Higher maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, but not paternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, is associated with higher offspring blood pressure already from birth onwards.

Maternal Overweight but Not Paternal Overweight Before Pregnancy is Associated With Shorter Newborn Telomere Length: Evidence From Guangxi Zhuang Birth Cohort in China

“…The phenomenon of parental BMI on newborn TL might be explained by the greater in uence of mothers through the whole course of pregnancy. On the other hand, some studies reported that paternal effects on the next generation emerged later [4,34]. There were no obese fathers in our current study, therefore, it was understandable to have such a result between paternal BMI and newborn TL.…”

“…With the concept of eugenics spreading in China, overweight and obesity before pregnancy has gradually attracted more attention. Previous studies had reported that higher parental pre-pregnancy BMIs were associated with adverse offspring outcomes, such as higher risk of macrosomia [1], adverse body composition after birth [2], type 1 diabetes [3], higher blood pressure [4]and so on.…”

Pregnancy Weight Gain as a Predictor of Fetal Wellbeing in Liver Transplant Recipients

“…Maternal obesity in pregnancy is associated with higher risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus and higher mortality rate due to cardiovascular diseases in the children’s adolescent and adult life [ 25 ]. Moreover, infants of overweight and obese women have higher blood pressure and higher BMI than infants from normal-weight mothers [ 1 , 26 ]. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and eating behavior are linked to the pattern of infant gut microbiota at 12 months of life [ 27 ].…”

Editor’s presentation: ‘You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes’

“…Instead, the role of paternal health status is less clear. In the present issue, Jansen et al 5 report the relationship between parental body mass index (BMI) and offspring blood pressure in an Indonesian cohort of 587 parents and infants, a subgroup of the BReastfeeding Attitude and Volume Optimization (BRAVO) trial. The authors reported that higher maternal, but not paternal, BMI was associated with persistently higher levels of blood pressure across the first year of life; in particular each unit increase in maternal BMI was associated with 0.24 mmHg and 0.13 mmHg higher offspring's mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, during the first year of life.…”