Reference
Widen, E. M., Nichols, A. R., Kahn, L. G., Factor-Litvak, P., Insel, B. J., Hoepner, L., Dube, S. M., Rauh, V., Perera, F., & Rundle, A. (2019). Prepregnancy obesity is associated with cognitive outcomes in boys in a low-income, multiethnic birth cohort. BMC Pediatrics, 19, 507. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-019-1853-4
Article
Widen et al. (2019) conducted a study to investigate whether maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) are associated with cognitive outcomes in 7-year-old children from a low-income, multiethnic birth cohort. The authors hypothesized that maternal prepregnancy obesity and high GWG would have negative effects on child neurodevelopment, particularly among boys. Data from 368 African American and Dominican women and their children were analyzed using linear regression models. The results revealed that prepregnancy overweight and obesity were associated with lower full-scale IQ scores among boys but not girls. GWG was not associated with cognitive outcomes in either sex. These findings suggest that maternal prepregnancy obesity may have sex-specific effects on child neurodevelopment, which should be taken into consideration for public health interventions aimed at improving cognitive outcomes.
One strength of this study is its prospective design, which allowed for the measurement of maternal BMI and GWG during pregnancy and subsequent assessment of child neurodevelopment. Additionally, the study sample consisted of a diverse population of low-income women and their children, which increases the generalizability of the findings. However, the study also has some limitations. For instance, the authors did not examine the potential mechanisms underlying the association between maternal obesity and child neurodevelopment. Future studies should investigate potential biological and environmental pathways that may explain this relationship.
Overall, this study provides evidence for a sex-specific association between maternal prepregnancy obesity and child cognitive outcomes among low-income populations. These findings have important implications for public health interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of maternal obesity and improving cognitive outcomes in children.
