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Analysis of Congenital Heart Defects in Mouse Embryos Using Qualitative and Quantitative Histological Methods
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Association between maternal body mass index and congenital heart defects in offspring: a systematic review

Guang-ju Cai1, Xing-xing Sun1, Lu Zhang1

  • 1School of Health Services Management, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
|March 18, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Maternal obesity significantly increases the risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs) in newborns. Severe obesity poses the greatest risk, highlighting the importance of maintaining a healthy body mass index during pregnancy for fetal heart development.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Medicine
  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Maternal body mass index (BMI) is a critical factor in pregnancy outcomes.
  • Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity.
  • Existing research suggests a link between maternal overweight/obesity and CHDs, but dose-response relationships and specific defect associations require further clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and meta-analyze the association between maternal BMI categories (underweight, overweight, obese) and the risk of all CHDs combined and specific individual CHDs.
  • To investigate the dose-response relationship between increasing maternal BMI and CHD risk.
  • To assess the impact of maternal diabetes on the BMI-CHD association.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, ELSEVIER ScienceDirect, and Springer Link up to February 2013.
  • Data from 24 relevant studies were extracted by three independent authors.
  • A meta-analysis of 14 studies was performed using fixed-effects or random-effects models to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Main Results:

  • A significant dose-response relationship was observed between increasing maternal BMI (overweight, moderate obesity, severe obesity) and the risk of any CHD.
  • Severe maternal obesity showed the highest increased risk for CHDs, particularly for tetralogy of Fallot (OR, 1.94).
  • Maternal underweight was not associated with an increased risk of most CHDs but was linked to aortic valve stenosis (OR, 1.47).

Conclusions:

  • Increasing maternal BMI is associated with a progressively higher risk of congenital heart defects.
  • Severe maternal obesity is a substantial risk factor for the development of CHDs in offspring.
  • Public health initiatives promoting healthy maternal weight before and during pregnancy are crucial for CHD prevention.

Keywords:
body mass indexcongenital heart defectmetaanalysisobesesystematic review

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