Associations Between Paternal Obesity and Cardiometabolic Alterations in Offspring via Assisted Reproductive...

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Metabolic Health

Background:

• Assisted reproductive technology (ART) and paternal obesity are independently linked to adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in offspring.
• The combined impact of paternal obesity and ART on offspring cardiometabolic health remains incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the cardiometabolic profile of offspring conceived via ART, specifically focusing on the effects of paternal obesity.
• To clarify the association between paternal obesity and cardiometabolic alterations in ART-conceived children.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study involving 2890 singleton ART-conceived children aged 4-10 years.
• Analysis of age- and sex-specific z-scores for body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and lipid profiles.
• Multivariable regression and mediation analyses to assess the impact of paternal BMI categories and offspring BMI.

Main Results:

• Paternal obesity was significantly associated with increased offspring BMI z-score (0.53), systolic blood pressure z-score (0.21), and insulin resistance z-score (0.31).
• Offspring BMI was identified as a significant mediator, potentially explaining 57.48% to 94.75% of the association between paternal obesity and adverse cardiometabolic outcomes.
• Overweight fathers also showed increased offspring BMI and blood pressure, while underweight fathers had reduced offspring BMI.

Conclusions:

• Paternal obesity is associated with an unfavorable cardiometabolic profile in ART-conceived offspring.
• Offspring BMI is a crucial mediator linking paternal obesity to impaired metabolic health in children conceived via ART.
• These findings highlight the importance of paternal weight status in the context of assisted reproduction and offspring health.