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Differences in relationships of maternal and paternal age at childbirth with body fat distribution in offspring

Jingjing Liang1, Yangfeng Guo2, Meixia Dai1

  • 1Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China.

American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council
|September 25, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Higher maternal age at childbirth is linked to increased body fat in children. Paternal age at childbirth showed no significant association with offspring body fat measures in this study.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Human Development

Background:

  • Delayed parenthood is associated with adverse offspring health outcomes.
  • The impact of parental age on offspring body fat distribution remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between parental age at childbirth and body fat partitioning in Chinese children.
  • To determine if maternal age or paternal age has a greater influence on offspring adiposity.

Main Methods:

  • Recruited 463 children (mean age 8 years).
  • Utilized dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure fat mass (FM) and percentage of fat mass (%FM).
  • Calculated body mass index (BMI) and fat mass index (FMI), adjusting for confounders.

Main Results:

  • Increased maternal age at delivery correlated with higher BMI, FMI, and FM in children.
  • Children of mothers aged ≥31 years had significantly higher BMI, FMI, and FM compared to those of mothers aged ≤25 years.
  • No significant association was found between paternal age at childbirth and offspring body fat measures.

Conclusions:

  • Higher maternal age at childbirth is associated with increased body fat accumulation in offspring.
  • Paternal age at childbirth did not show a significant association with offspring body fat measures.
Abstract

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