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 The researchers had found evidence of this link in two previous
studies, said lead author Heejoo Jo of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.
“We wanted to see if we would find the same association using a
variety of different measures,” Jo told Reuters Health by phone.
“We did find pretty large associations, much bigger than we
thought,” she said.
Jo and her coauthors studied data on 1,311 mother-child pairs
collected between 2005 and 2012, including the mothers’ body mass
index (BMI, a height-to-weight ratio) before pregnancy and their
reports of the children’s psychosocial difficulties at age six. (On
online BMI calculator is here: http://1.usa.gov/1ooHYzU.)
The researchers also incorporated the children’s developmental
diagnoses and receipt of special needs services.
Kids of moms who were severely obese, with a BMI greater than 35,
were twice as likely to have emotional symptoms, problems with peers
and total psychosocial difficulties compared to kids of moms who had
a healthy BMI, between 18.5 and 25.
They were three times as likely to have a diagnosis of autism
spectrum disorder and more than four time as likely to have
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as reported in
Pediatrics.
The researchers accounted for pregnancy weight gain, gestational
diabetes, breastfeeding duration, postpartum depression and infant
birth weight, none of which explained the apparent link.
“We already do know that obesity is related to health problems
during pregnancy and throughout the lifetime,” Jo said. “I think
this adds to that by suggesting that not only does severe obesity
affect a woman’s health but the health of her future children.”
It was particularly surprising that many of the children of severely
obese mothers were of average body weight at age six, said Jed
Friedman of the reproductive sciences faculty of the Graduate School
of the University of Colorado Denver.
“Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation plays a very
significant role in childhood outcomes,” Friedman, who wasn’t part
of the study, told Reuters Health by email. “The authors did not
include any measurements of diet, although they did adjust for
maternal weight gain, gestational diabetes, and breast-feeding.”
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This study could not analyze the mechanism linking severe obesity
and later risk for developmental problems, Jo noted.
“One theory that we could not look at and needs further research was
some small studies have linked maternal obesity to increased
inflammation, which might affect fetal brain development,” she said.
Women should receive comprehensive care and discuss all health and
medical issues with their doctors before becoming pregnant, and that
includes weight status, Jo said.
“Pre-gestational weight loss is recommended for severely obese
women,” Friedman said. The healthier a woman can be entering
pregnancy, the better, he said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children be
screened for developmental delay or disability at nine, 18 and 24 or
30 months of age, and women who were severely obese before pregnancy
should be especially committed to getting those screens done, she
said.
“And if they have any concerns, bring the child in immediately,” she
said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1JwqyRC
Pediatrics, online April 27, 2015.
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