The effects of modifiable maternal pregnancy exposures on offspring molar-incisor hypomineralisation: A negative control study

Abstract

Objectives: Explore associations between modifiable maternal pregnancy exposures: pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), pregnancy smoking and alcohol consumption with offspring molar-incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) and use negative control analyses to explore for the presence of confounding.

Method: Using data from a prospective UK birth cohort, Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we performed logistic regression to explore confounder adjusted associations between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy with MIH. We compared these with negative control exposure (paternal BMI, smoking and alcohol) and outcome (offspring dental trauma) analyses.

Results: 5,536 mother/offspring pairs were included (297 (5.4%) MIH cases). We found a weak, positive association between maternal mean BMI and offspring MIH (Odds Ratio (OR) per 1-kg/m2 difference in BMI: 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00, 1.08). Results of subsequent analyses suggested this effect was non-linear and being driven by women in the highest BMI quintile (OR for women in the highest BMI quintile versus the lowest: 1.61 95%CI: 1.02, 2.60). Negative control analyses showed no evidence of an association between paternal BMI and offspring MIH (OR: 0.94, 95%CI: 0.89,1.00) and maternal BMI and offspring dental trauma (OR: 0.99, 95%CI: 0.96, 1.02). There was no clear evidence of an association for maternal smoking (OR: 0.76, 95%CI: 0.46,1.22) or alcohol consumption (OR: 0.79, 95%CI: 0.56, 1.21) with offspring MIH with results imprecisely estimated.

Conclusion: We found a possible intrauterine effect for high maternal pre-pregnancy BMI on offspring MIH, but no robust evidence of an intrauterine effect for maternal pregnancy smoking or alcohol consumption. A key limitation includes possible misclassification of MIH. Replication of these results is warranted.

Keywords: ALSPAC; Alcohol; Body mass index; Molar-incisor hypomineralisation; Negative control; Smoking.