[Effects of long-chain fatty acid patterns in umbilical cord blood on neonatal birth size]

To investigate the associations between long-chain fatty acid patterns(FAP)in umbilical cord blood and neonatal anthropometric measures, and to examine the influence of maternal diet on specific fatty acid levels.

A total of 468 healthy late-pregnant women were recruited from two maternity hospitals in Guangzhou from September 2010 to November 2011, with 317 cord blood samples ultimately included. Gas chromatography was used to determine the relative content of long-chain fatty acids, and principal component analysis was applied to extract FAP. Multiple linear regression models were employed to analyze the associations of cord blood fatty acid levels and FAP with infant birth size indicators(LAZ, WAZ, BMIZ, and WHZ), and to evaluate the relationship between maternal diet in late pregnancy and cord blood fatty acids.

Four distinct FAPs were identified. Multivariate analysis revealed that C18:1t was negatively associated with LAZ(β=-0.406, P=0.025); C20:0 was positively associated with BMIZ and WHZ(β=1.401, P<0.05), C20:2 was positively associated with LAZ and WAZ(β=0.430, β=0.439, P<0.05), and C24:1 was positively associated with LAZ(β=0.224, P=0.040). Overall, the FAP model demonstrated better explanatory power than individual fatty acid models. Maternal diet showed minimal influence on cord blood FAP.

Specific long-chain fatty acid patterns in cord blood are significantly associated with neonatal anthropometry, suggesting that fetal lipid exposure may influence early growth. Assessing fatty acid exposure from a holistic pattern perspective holds greater value than relying on single indicators.