Higher levels of blood markers in the umbilical cord indicate that the
baby has more fat and may continue having more fat into late childhood and
adolescence, new research suggests.
The cord blood markers leptin and adiponectin indicate the
degree of fat in the child at birth, but the relationships between these
markers and the offspring's risk of obesity in later life is not clear.
"Birthweight
was positively associated with fat mass, waist circumference and body mass
index at age 9 and 17," said lead author Joy Simpson, MBChB, clinical
research fellow in maternal and reproductive health at the University of
Glasgow, United Kingdom. "Fetal overnutrition may facilitate fetal growth
and fat accretion, as determined by cord leptin and birthweight, and may
program greater adiposity in the child that extends into childhood and
adolescence."
To
examine the association of cord-blood leptin, adiponectin and birthweight with
childhood and adolescent fat, Simpson and her colleagues measured blood taken
from the umbilical cord at birth in 5,011 mothers and children who were part of
an existing study in the United Kingdom.
Higher
levels of cord-blood leptin and adiponectin at birth were associated with
greater fat in the child at ages 9 and 17, and these effects remained even
after pregnancy and lifestyle influences such as the mother's weight in
pregnancy were accounted for. Greater birthweight also corresponded to the
child's increased fat mass at ages 9 and 17.
The
researchers found that cord-blood leptin was positively associated with fat
mass, waist circumference and body mass index at age 9, but that the effect was
diminished when they adjusted for pregnancy characteristics.
They
found a similar but weaker pattern at age 17, when cord leptin was
significantly associated with fat mass, waist circumference and body mass index,
but these associations faded after they adjusted for maternal and pregnancy
characteristics.
Cord-blood
adiponectin was not associated with any measures at age 9, but at age 17,
adiponectin was positively associated with fat mass and waist circumference.
Also at age 17, the effect size after adjusting for maternal and pregnancy
characteristics was strengthened.
"This
work highlights the importance of optimizing maternal health before and during
pregnancy to improve offspring health and limit the translation of greater
adiposity onto future generations," Simpson advised.
Source:
sciencedaily
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