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Gestational Cytokines and the Developmental Expression of Obesity in Childhood

Akhgar Ghassabian1,2,3, Mady Hornig4, Zhen Chen5

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, New York University, New York, New York, USA.

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
|September 28, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Maternal prenatal inflammation, indicated by elevated cytokines like IL-1β, is linked to lower birth BMI but increased childhood obesity risk. These effects vary by age and sex, highlighting inflammation's role in obesity programming.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive biology and immunology
  • Pediatric health and nutrition
  • Epidemiology of chronic diseases

Background:

  • Maternal immune system activity during pregnancy may influence fetal development and long-term health outcomes.
  • Childhood adiposity is a growing public health concern with complex etiological factors.
  • Understanding prenatal influences on childhood obesity is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between maternal immune markers during pregnancy and childhood adiposity.
  • To determine if these associations differ at birth versus later in childhood.
  • To examine sex-specific differences in the relationship between maternal inflammation and child adiposity.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of maternal serum cytokine levels (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-8, IL-10) during pregnancy in 1,366 participants.
  • Repeated measurement of children's Body Mass Index z scores (BMIz) from birth through age 8.
  • Application of linear mixed models to assess cumulative cytokine concentrations and their relation to child BMIz.

Main Results:

  • Higher maternal concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 were associated with lower BMIz at birth.
  • Elevated levels of IL-8 and IL-1β during pregnancy correlated with higher BMIz in infancy.
  • Maternal inflammation was linked to increased childhood BMIz, with sex-specific effects observed for TNF-α.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal prenatal inflammation plays a role in the developmental programming of obesity risk.
  • The impact of prenatal immune activity on adiposity is age- and sex-dependent.
  • Findings underscore the importance of the prenatal environment in shaping long-term metabolic health.
Abstract

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