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Association Between Maternal Progesterone Use and Body Weight of Offspring in the US Collaborative Perinatal Project:
Bin Hu1,2, Yuwan Wu1, Qiuling Xie1
1Department of Pediatrics, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Insights
Maternal progesterone use during pregnancy was linked to lower offspring birth weight. This effect persisted for up to a year, especially with longer progesterone exposure.
Area of Science:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Reproductive Health
Background:
- Investigating the long-term effects of prenatal medication exposure is crucial for understanding child development.
- Progesterone is a hormone with critical roles in pregnancy maintenance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if and how maternal progesterone use during pregnancy affects offspring body weight.
- To analyze the impact of timing and duration of progesterone use on offspring weight.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Collaborative Perinatal Project (1959-1976).
- Employed multivariable linear regression to assess the association between maternal progesterone use and offspring weight up to age 7.
- Examined effects based on trimester of initiation, total duration, and pregnancy duration of progesterone use.
Main Results:
- 1.92% of mothers (952/49,507) used progesterone during pregnancy.
- Progesterone users' offspring had significantly lower birth weights (-135g) and weights at 4 months (-92.6g) compared to non-users.
- Lower offspring weight persisted to 1 year for those exposed to progesterone initiated in the second/third trimester or used for over 20 days.
Conclusions:
- Maternal progesterone use in this historical cohort (1959-1976) is associated with reduced offspring birth weight.
- Findings suggest a potential impact on offspring growth trajectory.
- Further contemporary research in diverse populations is recommended.
Introduction:
This study aimed to evaluate whether and to what extent progesterone use during pregnancy influences offspring's body weight in a large sample, drawn from 1959 to 1976.
Methods:
We used the data from the National Collaborative Perinatal Project, which retrospectively collected information on maternal progesterone use and offspring weight from birth to 7 years of age. Multivariable linear regression models were used to evaluate the association between maternal progesterone use and offspring weight, and to verify whether early pregnancy progesterone use, total duration of pregnancy, and duration of pregnancy use affect offspring weight.
Results:
Among 49,507 mothers, 952 (1.92%) used progesterone during pregnancy. Birth weight of those who used progesterone was significantly lower than that of nonusers after adjusting for potential confounders. We found that the weight gaps were -135 g (95% CI: -163 to -106 g) at birth and -92.6 g (95% CI: -149 to -35.7 g) at 4 months. When progesterone use was first initiated in the second or third trimester, lower weight in offspring of users could persist to 8 months and 1 year, respectively. If the total duration of progesterone use during the entire pregnancy was longer than 20 days, the weight gap between offspring of users and those of nonusers could last for 1 year after birth.
Conclusions:
Maternal progesterone use during pregnancy might be associated with lower birth weight of offspring in this population from 1959 to 1976, which suggests that further, updated research to in other populations is warranted.
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