Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 27, 2025
Author Spotlight: Collecting the Brain and Serum from the Same Mice Fetus to Study Brain Tumor Development
Published on: May 17, 2024
Maternal obesity increases the risk and severity of NAFLD in offspring
Hannes Hagström1, Tracey G Simon2, Bjorn Roelstraete3
1Division of Hepatology, Department of Upper GI, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; Clinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Background & Aims:
Maternal obesity has been linked to the development of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in offspring, but its relationship to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is unclear.
Methods:
Through the nationwide ESPRESSO cohort study we identified all individuals ≤25 years of age in Sweden with biopsy-verified NAFLD diagnosed between 1992 and 2016 (n = 165). These were matched by age, sex, and calendar year with up to 5 controls (n = 717). Through linkage with the nationwide Swedish Medical Birth Register (MBR) we retrieved data on maternal early-pregnancy BMI, and possible confounders, in order to calculate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for NAFLD in offspring.
Results:
Maternal BMI was associated with NAFLD in offspring: underweight (aOR 0.84; 95% CI 0.14-5.15), normal weight (reference, aOR 1), overweight (aOR 1.51; 0.95-2.40), and obese (aOR 3.26; 1.72-6.19) women. Severe NAFLD (biopsy-proven fibrosis or cirrhosis) was also more common in offspring of overweight (aOR 1.94; 95% CI 0.96-3.90) and obese (aOR 3.67; 95% CI 1.61-8.38) mothers. Associations were similar after adjusting for maternal pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes. Socio-economic parameters (smoking, mother born outside the Nordic countries and less than 10 years of basic education) were also associated with NAFLD in offspring but did not materially alter the effect size of maternal BMI in a multivariable model.
Conclusions:
This nationwide study found a strong association between maternal overweight/obesity and future NAFLD in offspring. Adjusting for socio-economic and metabolic parameters in the mother did not affect this finding, suggesting that maternal obesity is an independent risk factor for NAFLD in offspring.
Lay Summary:
In a study of all young persons in Sweden with a liver biopsy consistent with fatty liver, the authors found that compared to matched controls, the risk of fatty liver was much higher in those with obese mothers. This was independent of available confounders and suggests that the high prevalence of obesity in younger persons might lead to a higher risk of fatty liver in their offspring.
More Related Videos
03:19Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
Published on: June 28, 2024
11:44A Primary Human Trophoblast Model to Study the Effect of Inflammation Associated with Maternal Obesity on Regulation of Autophagy in the Placenta
Published on: September 27, 2017
Related Concept Videos
01:24Obesity
01:20Pathophysiology of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic β cells, with environmental factors potentially triggering this process in genetically susceptible individuals. Despite many not having a family history, certain genes increase susceptibility,...
01:20Pharmacokinetics in Obese Patients: Drug Metabolism and Excretion
01:21Drug Dosing: Obese Patients
01:25Pharmacokinetics in Obese Patients: Drug Absorption and Distribution
01:24Overview of Lipid Metabolism
Lipolysis: The Breakdown of Lipids:
Lipolysis is the process of breaking down lipids, particularly triglycerides, into glycerol and fatty acids. This process typically occurs in the adipose tissue and is triggered by various hormones, including glucagon and...