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. 2013 Mar;6(1):20-25.
doi: 10.1177/1753495X12472643. Epub 2013 Mar 1.

Maternal Body Mass Index during Pregnancy and Offspring Neurocognitive Development

Wendy Y Craig  1 , Glenn E Palomaki  2 , Louis M Neveux  2 , James E Haddow  2
Affiliations

Maternal Body Mass Index during Pregnancy and Offspring Neurocognitive Development

Wendy Y Craig et al. Obstet Med. 2013 Mar.

Abstract

Background: This hypothesis generating study explores second trimester maternal body mass index (BMI) during pregnancy and offspring neurocognitive development.

Methods: Mothers and offspring served as controls in two earlier studies: 101 children at age two years and 118 children at age eight years.

Results: Frequency of maternal BMI ≥30 kg/m2 increased from 10% in 1987-1990 to 30% in 2004-2006 (P < 0.001); the socioeconomic gradient became more pronounced. At age two, one or more BSID-III (Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 3rd Edition) scores <85 were more frequent with higher maternal BMI (P = 0.029); regression analysis suggested an inverse relationship between language scores and BMI (P = 0.054). Among eight-year-olds, one or more WISC-III (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd edition) scores <85 increased with maternal BMI (P = 0.017); regression analysis showed an inverse relationship between performance subscale IQ score and BMI (P = 0.023).

Conclusion: Second trimester maternal obesity may be an independent risk factor for some aspects of children's neurocognitive development. Further study is indicated.

Keywords: BMI; offspring neurocognitive development; pregnancy.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Normalized Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 3rd edition (BSID-III) language composite scores at age 2.4 (0.4) years among 101 children in Dataset A (vertical axis), plotted against their mothers’ body mass index (BMI) during the second trimester (horizontal axis). The BSID-III language scores were normalized to 100, by dividing each result by the overall mean of 105.5. The solid line shows the unadjusted relationship (r = -0.30, slope = -61.265, P = 0.0003), while the dashed line shows the relationship after adjusting for Hollingshead score (hhs), child's sex, number of prior births (npb), mother's age and smoking (r = -0.16, slope = -26.644, P = 0.054). The adjustment equation for the expected BSID-III language scores is shown below. Expected score = 109.606-26.644 × log(bmi) + 5.781 × hhs -10.124 × sex-3.724 × npb + 0.603 × age + 9.27 × smoke
Figure 2
Figure 2
Normalized Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd edition (WISC-III) performance subscale IQ scores at age 8.1 (0.6) years among 118 children in Dataset B (vertical axis), plotted against their mothers’ body mass index (BMI) during the second trimester (horizontal axis). The BSID-III language scores were normalized to 100, by dividing each result by the overall mean of 104.8. The solid line shows the unadjusted relationship (r = -0.20, slope = -34.733, P = 0.028), while the dashed line shows the relationship after adjusting for Hollingshead score (hhs), child's sex, number of prior births (npb), mother's age and smoking (r = -0.20, slope = -35.534, P = 0.023). The adjustment equation for the expected WISC-III performance subscale IQ scores is shown below. Expected Score = 131.633 -35.534 × log(bmi) + 3.843 × hhs + 2.544 × sex -1.149 × npb + 0.147 × age + 1.391 × smoke
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References

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