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Fetal programming of children's obesity risk
Stephanie A Stout1, Emma V Espel1, Curt A Sandman2
1Department of Psychology, University of Denver, United States.
Psychoneuroendocrinology
|January 16, 2015
Summary
Prenatal exposure to high placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) in the third trimester is linked to catch-up growth and increased childhood obesity risk. Maternal cortisol levels did not show an association with child BMI percentile.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive biology
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Developmental origins of health and disease
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern, affecting 17% of US children and adolescents.
- Prenatal maternal stress and fetal growth patterns, like catch-up growth, are increasingly recognized as contributors to obesity and metabolic risk.
- The maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and placental hormones play a role in fetal development and programming long-term health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of the maternal HPA axis and placental hormones in programming fetal risk for childhood obesity.
- To evaluate the association between maternal stress hormones during pregnancy and infant body mass index (BMI) trajectories.
- To identify distinct infant BMI percentile (BMIP) profiles and their relationship with prenatal hormonal exposures.
Main Methods:
- A prospective longitudinal study involving 246 mother-child pairs.
- Measurement of placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) and maternal plasma cortisol at multiple gestational points.
- Child BMI percentile (BMIP) tracking from birth to 24 months, analyzed using general growth mixture modeling (GGMM).
Main Results:
- Elevated placental CRH at 30 weeks gestation predicted higher birth weight and BMIP, and was associated with catch-up growth profiles.
- Four distinct BMIP profiles were identified: typical, rapid increase, delayed increase, and decreasing.
- Children in the rapid and delayed catch-up growth profiles showed higher exposure to placental CRH in the third trimester compared to those with typical growth.
Conclusions:
- Third-trimester exposure to elevated placental CRH is associated with catch-up growth patterns in children.
- Catch-up growth, particularly rapid increases in BMI, is linked to increased metabolic and obesity risks.
- Placental CRH appears to play a specific role in the fetal programming of obesity risk.
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