Associations between maternal adiposity during pregnancy and neonatal brain cortical development
Xiaoxu Na1, Brooke L Yancey-Ward2, Yan Xue3
1Department of Radiology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, USA.
Insights
Maternal body fat percentage during pregnancy is linked to reduced neonatal brain cortical volume in specific regions. These findings suggest potential in utero and sex-specific effects of maternal adiposity on infant brain development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Public Health
Background:
- Maternal obesity during pregnancy may impact child neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- In utero exposure to maternal obesity can affect offspring brain development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate associations between maternal body fat mass percentage at different pregnancy stages and neonatal cortical brain development.
- To evaluate the impact of maternal adiposity on fetal brain development.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 169 mother/newborn dyads.
- Maternal fat mass percentage assessed via air displacement plethysmography at 12 and 36 weeks gestation.
- Neonatal brain MRI performed at ~2 weeks postnatal age; analyzed for cortical volume, thickness, and surface area.
Main Results:
- Maternal fat mass percentage negatively associated with neonatal cortical volume in the left entorhinal cortex and left parahippocampal gyrus at both 12 and 36 weeks.
- Increased maternal adiposity at 36 weeks also linked to reduced volume in the right temporal pole.
- Sex interacted with maternal fat mass percentage at 12 weeks, affecting cortical volume in the left pars triangularis.
Conclusions:
- Maternal body fat mass percentage during pregnancy is significantly related to neonatal cortical volume.
- Findings suggest potential in utero and sex-specific influences of maternal adiposity on offspring brain development.
Background:
Previous studies have suggested that obesity during pregnancy is associated with changes in child neurodevelopmental outcomes, indicating in utero effects of maternal obesity on offspring brain development.
Purpose:
This study aims to evaluate whether there are associations between maternal body fat mass percentage (a direct measure of adiposity) at different stages of pregnancy and neonatal cortical brain development.
Materials And Methods:
169 mother/newborn dyads (79 boys and 90 girls) were included in this longitudinal and prospective study. Maternal fat mass percentage was assessed using air displacement plethysmography methodology at 12 and 36 weeks of pregnancy. At ∼2 weeks of postnatal age, the neonates underwent a brain MRI during natural sleep without sedation using high-resolution 3D T1- and T2-weighted imaging. Multiple linear regression models, controlling for appropriate covariates, were used to evaluate associations between maternal fat mass percentage and neonatal cortical features (volume, thickness, and surface area), as well as to test for interaction effects between neonatal sex and maternal fat mass percentage on these outcomes.
Results:
Maternal fat mass percentage at 12 weeks of pregnancy negatively associated with neonatal cortical volume of left entorhinal cortex (ꞵ = -1.36, t = -3.53, P = 0.04), and left parahippocampal gyrus (ꞵ = -1.50, t = -3.31, P = 0.04); maternal fat mass percentage at 36 weeks of pregnancy negatively associated with neonatal cortical volume of left entorhinal cortex (ꞵ = -1.76, t = -3.25, P = 0.04), left parahippocampal gyrus (ꞵ = -2.26, t = -3.53, P = 0.04), and right temporal pole (ꞵ = -2.24, t = -3.19, P = 0.04). Sex interaction with maternal fat mass percentage at 12 weeks significantly associated with cortical volume in left pars triangularis (ꞵ = -8.28, t = -3.46, P = 0.05).
Conclusion:
Significant relationships were identified between maternal body fat mass percentage during pregnancy and neonatal cortical volume, suggesting potential in utero and sex-specific impacts of increased maternal adiposity on offspring brain development.
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