Search

BackgroundMaternal obesity is associated with an increased risk of large-for-gestational-age births and childhood obesity. However, evidence on its potential associations with long-term offspring body composition remains limited. This prospective cohort study examined associations between maternal body mass index (BMI) during pregnancy and body composition in the young adult offspring.MethodsParticipants were the offspring from a birth cohort in Chiang Mai (Thailand). Maternal BMI was assessed at the first antenatal clinic visit (≤24 weeks of gestation) in 1989–1990. In 2010–2011, we followed up the offspring at approximately 20 years of age, assessing their body composition using whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. Associations between maternal BMI and offspring body composition were explored using unadjusted and adjusted analyses.ResultsWe assessed 391 young adults (55% were females). Higher maternal BMI was associated with increased offspring fat mass and lean mass. In adjusted analyses, offspring of mothers with overweight/obesity exhibited total body fat percentages 1.5 (95% CI 0.1, 2.9; p = 0.032) and 2.3 (95% CI 0.2, 4.5; p = 0.036) percentage points higher than offspring of normal-weight and underweight mothers, respectively. Fat mass index was similarly higher: 0.9 kg/m2 (95% CI 0.3, 1.5 kg/m2; p = 0.002) and 1.4 kg/m2 (95% CI 0.5, 2.3 kg/m2; p = 0.002), respectively. However, no differences in visceral adiposity were detected.ConclusionHigher maternal BMI during pregnancy was associated with increased adiposity in young adult offspring. Our findings suggest that the cross-generational transmission of maternal obesity-related traits is associated with increased offspring adiposity in the long term.

Abstract We examined the associations between caesarean section (CS) delivery and cardiovascular risk factors in young adults in Thailand. Participants were 632 offspring from a birth cohort in Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand), born in 1989–1990 and assessed in 2010 at a mean age of 20.6 years, including 57 individuals (9.0%) born by CS and 575 born vaginally. Clinical assessments included anthropometry, blood pressure (BP), carotid intima-media thickness, and fasting blood glucose, insulin, and lipid profile. Young adults born by CS had systolic BP (SBP) 6.2 mmHg higher (p

Abstract Background Rates of overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age have been steadily increasing worldwide and in Thailand. There is mounting evidence that maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of obesity and other adverse health outcomes in the offspring, but such data are lacking for Thailand. We examined the associations between maternal body mass index (BMI) and anthropometry (particularly the likelihood of obesity) and cardiometabolic parameters in young adult offspring. Methods This was a prospective follow-up study of a birth cohort in Chiang Mai (Thailand). Pregnant women carrying singletons were recruited at their first antenatal visit (

BackgroundIn animal models, prenatal zinc deficiency induced epigenetic changes in the fetus, but data in humans are lacking. We aimed to examine associations between maternal zinc levels during pregnancy and DNA methylation in LINE-1 and Alu repetitive sequences in young adult offspring, as well as anthropometry and cardiometabolic parameters.MethodsParticipants were 74 pregnant women from the Chiang Mai Low Birth Weight cohort, and their offspring followed up at 20 years of age. Maternal plasma zinc concentrations were measured at approximately 36 weeks of gestation. DNA methylation levels in LINE-1 and Alu repetitive sequences were measured in the offspring, as well as anthropometry and cardiometabolic parameters (lipid profile, blood pressure, and glucose metabolism).ResultsOver half of mothers (39/74; 53%) were zinc deficient (ConclusionsLower maternal zinc concentrations late in gestation were associated with changes in DNA methylation in later life. Thus, zinc deficiency during pregnancy may induce alterations in total LINE-1 methylation and LINE-1 hypermethylation loci. These results suggest a possible epigenetic link between zinc deficiency during pregnancy and long-term outcomes in the offspring.

Alu elements and long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1 or L1) are two major human intersperse repetitive sequences. Lower Alu methylation, but not LINE-1, has been observed in blood cells of people in old age, and in menopausal women having lower bone mass and osteoporosis. Nevertheless, Alu methylation levels also vary among young individuals. Here, we explored phenotypes at birth that are associated with Alu methylation levels in young people. In 2010, 249 twenty-years-old volunteers whose mothers had participated in a study association between birth weight (BW) and nutrition during pregnancy in 1990, were invited to take part in our present study. In this study, the LINE-1 and Alu methylation levels and patterns were measured in peripheral mononuclear cells and correlated with various nutritional parameters during intrauterine and postnatal period of offspring. This included the amount of maternal intake during pregnancy, the mother's weight gain during pregnancy, birth weight, birth length, and the rate of weight gain in the first year of life. Catch-up growth (CUG) was defined when weight during the first year was >0.67 of the standard score, according to WHO data. No association with LINE-1 methylation was identified. The mean level of Alu methylation in the CUG group was significantly higher than those non-CUG (39.61% and 33.66 % respectively, P < 0.0001). The positive correlation between the history of CUG in the first year and higher Alu methylation indicates the role of Alu methylation, not only in aging cells, but also in the human growth process. Moreover, here is the first study that demonstrated the association between a phenotype during the newborn period and intersperse repetitive sequences methylation during young adulthood.