Objective: The aim was to study the association between newborn anthropometrics and childhood cardiovascular risks and whether newborn anthropometrics mediate the effect of maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) on childhood risks.
Methods: Data of 926 mother-child dyads from the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes study were analyzed. Newborn anthropometrics were treated as predictors and mediators by using a regression model and causal mediation model, respectively.
Results: Newborn sum of skinfolds (SSF) was associated with childhood diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and pulse wave velocity (coefficients [95% CI]: 0.13 [0.06 to 0.20]; 0.08 [0.004 to 0.15]), whereas newborn ponderal index (PI) was inversely associated with childhood systolic blood pressure (SBP), DBP, and pulse wave velocity (-0.08 [-0.15 to -0.01]; -0.08 [-0.14 to -0.008]; -0.09 [-0.16 to -0.03]). Newborn SSF mediated the effects of maternal excessive GWG on childhood SSF and DBP (proportion of total effect 9% and 8%, respectively). In contrast, a significant negative mediation through newborn PI was found for the effect of maternal excessive GWG on childhood DBP (-8%) and its effect on childhood SBP through birth weight (-27%).
Conclusions: Childhood cardiovascular risks are positively associated with newborn SSF but inversely associated with newborn PI. Newborn SSF mediates the impact of excessive maternal GWG on childhood BP, but birth weight and newborn PI negatively mediate it.
© 2022 The Obesity Society.