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Maternal free fatty acid concentration during pregnancy is associated with newborn hypothalamic microstructure in
Jerod M Rasmussen1,2, Paul M Thompson3, Lauren E Gyllenhammer1,2
1Development, Health and Disease Research Program, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA.
Insights
Maternal saturated free fatty acids (sFFA) during pregnancy are linked to newborn brain development, specifically hypothalamic microstructure. This altered brain development is associated with increased body fat percentage in early childhood, suggesting a pathway to childhood obesity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Metabolic Health
Background:
- Maternal nutrition during pregnancy significantly impacts fetal development.
- The hypothalamus plays a critical role in regulating energy balance and metabolism.
- Understanding early-life predictors of childhood obesity is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal saturated free fatty acid (sFFA) levels during pregnancy and offspring hypothalamic (HTH) microstructure in newborns.
- To explore the functional relevance of this association concerning early-childhood body fat percentage (BF%).
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of 94 healthy newborns.
- Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess HTH microstructure (mean diffusivity, MD).
- Maternal sFFA quantified via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry; early-childhood BF% measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.
Main Results:
- Maternal sFFA concentration during pregnancy explained 8.3% of the variation in newborn HTH MD (p=0.006).
- Newborn HTH MD prospectively accounted for 15% of the variation in early-childhood BF% (p=0.019).
Conclusions:
- Maternal sFFA during pregnancy is associated with altered newborn HTH microstructure.
- Alterations in HTH microstructure may represent a mechanism linking maternal nutrition to childhood obesity risk.
- Findings highlight the potential clinical relevance of maternal diet for offspring metabolic health.
Objective:
This study tested the hypothesis, in a prospective cohort study design, that maternal saturated free fatty acid (sFFA) concentration during pregnancy is prospectively associated with offspring (newborn) hypothalamic (HTH) microstructure and to explore the functional relevance of this association with respect to early-childhood body fat percentage (BF%).
Methods:
In N = 94 healthy newborns (born mean 39.3 [SD 1.5] weeks gestation), diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was performed shortly after birth (25.3 [12.5] postnatal days), and a subgroup (n = 37) underwent a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan in early childhood (4.7 [SD 0.7] years). Maternal sFFA concentration during pregnancy was quantified in fasting blood samples via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Infant HTH microstructural integrity was characterized using mean diffusivity (MD). Multiple linear regression was used to test the association between maternal sFFA and HTH MD, accounting for newborn sex, age at scan, mean white matter MD, and image quality. Multiple linear regression models also tested the association between HTH MD and early-childhood BF%, accounting for breastfeeding status.
Results:
Maternal sFFA during pregnancy accounted for 8.3% of the variation in newborn HTH MD (β-std = 0.25; p = 0.006). Furthermore, newborn HTH MD prospectively accounted for 15% of the variation in early-childhood BF% (β-std = 0.32; p = 0.019).
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that maternal overnutrition during pregnancy may influence the development of the fetal hypothalamus, which, in turn, may have clinical relevance for childhood obesity risk.
