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Maternal pregnancy weight or gestational weight gain and offspring's blood pressure: A systematic review

Helena Ludwig-Walz1, Juliana Nyasordzi2, Katharina S Weber3

  • 1Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Department of Nutritional, Food and Consumer Sciences, Fulda, Germany.

Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases : NMCD
|January 26, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Maternal weight during pregnancy and gestational weight gain show limited evidence for association with offspring's blood pressure. More high-quality research is needed to draw firm conclusions on this important health link.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Maternal weight parameters during pregnancy are increasingly studied for their association with offspring's blood pressure (BP).
  • Understanding this link is crucial for long-term child health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and evaluate the evidence linking maternal pregnancy weight, body mass index (BMI), or gestational weight gain (GWG) with offspring's BP later in life.
  • To assess the quality of existing studies and the strength of the evidence.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines was conducted.
  • Searches were performed across multiple databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Web of Science).
  • Risk of bias was assessed using the NHLBI tool, and evidence graded using WCRF criteria.

Main Results:

  • 16 cohort studies (52,606 participants) were included.
  • Association between maternal pregnancy BMI and offspring BP was analyzed in 2 good-quality studies with inconsistent results.
  • Gestational weight gain (GWG) and offspring BP was analyzed in 14 studies (2 good-quality, 9 fair-quality, 3 poor-quality), with some fair-quality studies showing significant positive results for systolic BP and varying results for diastolic BP.

Conclusions:

  • The overall evidence for an association between maternal pregnancy weight determinants and offspring's BP was graded as "limited - no conclusion".
  • The small number of high-quality studies and inconsistent findings prevent firm conclusions.
  • Further high-quality research is necessary to clarify these associations.
Abstract

Keywords:
Blood pressureDevelopmental origins of health and diseaseGestational weight gainOffspringPerinatal programmingPregnancy weight

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