Maternal Pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index and Gestational Weight Gain in Relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder and other Developmental Disorders in Offspring.
Kids born to moms with obesity or high pregnancy weight gain face a small but real uptick in autism and other developmental delays.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Chezan et al. (2019) tracked moms’ weight before and during pregnancy. They asked if higher weight linked to autism or other delays in the kids later.
The team used health records from a large group. They compared moms with normal weight, moms who were overweight, and moms with obesity.
What they found
Kids whose moms had obesity or gained a lot of weight during pregnancy had a small but real jump in autism odds.
The same kids also showed more other developmental delays, like late talking or walking.
How this fits with other research
Li et al. (2016) pooled earlier studies and saw the same small autism risk from mom’s obesity. C et al. adds new detail by also looking at how much weight moms gained while pregnant.
Raghavan et al. (2018) looked at the next step: babies who grow very fast after birth. They found those rapid growers later had much higher autism odds. Together the papers sketch a path: heavy moms → heavy babies → autism risk.
Granich et al. (2016) seems to flip the story. They show that moms of kids who already have autism tend to be heavier now. The twist is timing: Joanna looks at weight after the diagnosis, while C et al. look at weight before the child is born. Both can be true without conflict.
Why it matters
You can’t change a mom’s past weight, but you can flag extra early monitoring for kids born to moms with obesity or high pregnancy weight gain. Share the small-risk news with pediatricians so language and social screens start sooner.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Most prior studies examining maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) in relation to offspring autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have reported an association, though findings are not uniform and few have also examined gestational weight gain (GWG). Therefore, we examined both in the Study to Explore Early Development, a multi-site case-control study of children born in 2003-2006. Children identified from clinics, schools, and birth certificates were enrolled at ages 2-5 year and using standardized developmental evaluations, classified as: ASD, other developmental delays (DD), or population-based controls. Maternal height, weight, and GWG were self-reported during the telephone interview. Three primary weight risk factors were examined: (a) Pre-pregnancy BMI, classified as underweight to obese, (b) GWG continuous and categorized as quintiles, and (c) Institute of Medicine clinical weight-gain recommendations. Odds ratios adjusted (AOR) for sociodemographic and prenatal factors were calculated among term singletons, comparing the ASD (n = 540) or DD (n = 720) groups to the control group (n = 776). The AOR of ASD and maternal obesity was 1.37 (95%CI 0.98-1.92). Associations with higher GWG were stronger (Quintile5 vs. Quintile3 AOR = 1.58, 95%CI 1.08-2.31), and particularly so among overweight/obese women (AOR = 1.90, 95%CI 0.98-3.68). DD was associated with maternal overweight and obesity (obesity AOR = 1.48, 95%CI 1.08-2.02), but not with total GWG or clinical recommendations. High maternal BMI and GWG are risk factors for other pregnancy and child outcomes, and our results suggest they may also represent modifiable risk factors for neurodevelopmental outcomes. Autism Res 2019, 12: 316-327 © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: In a large, national study, we found that children with autism were more likely than unaffected children to have mothers with higher weight gain during pregnancy; risk of autism may be even stronger if mothers were also overweight before pregnancy. Children with other developmental delays were more likely to have mothers who were overweight or obese before pregnancy, but not who gained more weight during pregnancy. Overweight and weight gain may represent factors that could be modified.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2019 · doi:10.1002/aur.2057