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. 2022 May 16:9:897059.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.897059. eCollection 2022.

Association of Prepregnancy Obesity and Remodeled Maternal-Fetal Plasma Fatty Acid Profiles

Hai-Tao Yu  1 , Wen-Hui Xu  1 , Yi-Ru Chen  1 , Ye Ji  1 , Yi-Wei Tang  1 , Yue-Ting Li  1 , Jia-Yu Gong  1 , Yi-Fei Chen  1 , Guo-Liang Liu  2 , Lin Xie  1
Affiliations

Association of Prepregnancy Obesity and Remodeled Maternal-Fetal Plasma Fatty Acid Profiles

Hai-Tao Yu et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: Fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), are found abundantly in the brain and are fundamental for a fetus's growth. The fatty acid profiles of mothers and fetuses may be affected by maternal prepregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI), thus affecting fetal growth and development.

Methods: A total of 103 mother-fetus pairs were divided into overweight/obese (OW, n = 26), normal weight (NW, n = 60), and underweight (UW, n = 17) groups according to pre-BMI. Fatty acid profiles in maternal and umbilical cord plasma were analyzed by gas chromatography.

Results: The infant birth BMI z-score of the OW group was higher than that of the NW and UW groups (p < 0.05). The OW mothers had significantly higher plasma n-6 PUFA and n-6/n-3, but lower docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and n-3 PUFA (p < 0.05). In cord plasma, the proportions of DHA and n-3 PUFA were lower in the OW group (p < 0.05), whereas the n-6/n-3 ratio was higher in the OW group (p < 0.05). The pre-BMI was negatively correlated with cord plasma DHA in all subjects (r = -0.303, p = 0.002), and the same negative correlation can be observed in the OW group (r = -0.561, p = 0.004), but not in the NW and UW groups (p > 0.05). The pre-BMI was positively correlated with cord plasma n-6/n-3 in all subjects (r = 0.325, p = 0.001), and the same positive correlation can be found in the OW group (r = 0.558, p = 0.004), but not in NW and UW groups (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: Maternal pre-BMI was associated with the maternal-fetal plasma fatty acid profiles, whereas the adverse fatty acid profiles are more noticeable in the prepregnancy OW mothers.

Keywords: DHA; cord blood; fatty acids; overweight/obesity; pre-pregnancy BMI.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Associations between maternal parameters and fetal parameters. The correlation coefficients are shown in different colors. Red, positive correlation; white, negative correlation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Associations between maternal pre-BMI and fetal DHA. (A) The association between maternal pre-BMI and fetal DHA in all subjects. (B) The association between maternal pre-BMI and fetal DHA in different groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Associations between maternal pre-BMI and fetal n-6/n-3. (A) The association between maternal pre-BMI and fetal n-6/n-3 in all subjects. (B) The association between maternal pre-BMI and fetal n-6/n-3 in different groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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