Predictors of Infant Body Composition at 5 Months of Age: The Healthy Start Study

Objective To examine associations of demographic, perinatal, and infant feeding characteristics with offspring body composition at approximately 5 months of age. Study design We collected data on 640 mother/offspring pairs from early pregnancy through approximately 5 months of age. We assessed offspring body composition with air displacement plethysmography at birth and approximately 5 months of age. Linear regression analyses examined associations between predictors and fat-free mass, fat mass, and percent fat mass (adiposity) at approximately 5 months. Secondary models further adjusted for body composition at birth and rapid infant growth. Results Greater prepregnant body mass index and gestational weight gain were associated with greater fat-free mass at approximately 5 months of age, but not after adjustment for fat-free mass at birth. Greater gestational weight gain was also associated with greater fat mass at approximately 5 months of age, independent of fat mass at birth and rapid infant growth, although this did not translate into increased adiposity. Greater percent time of exclusive breastfeeding was associated with lower fat-free mass (-311 g; P < .001), greater fat mass (+224 g; P < .001), and greater adiposity (+3.51%; P < .001). Compared with offspring of non-Hispanic white mothers, offspring of Hispanic mothers had greater adiposity (+2.72%; P < .001) and offspring of non-Hispanic black mothers had lower adiposity (-1.93%; P < .001). Greater adiposity at birth predicted greater adiposity at approximately 5 months of age, independent of infant feeding and rapid infant growth. Conclusions There are clear differences in infant body composition by demographic, perinatal, and infant feeding characteristics, although our data also show that increased adiposity at birth persists through approximately 5 months of age. Our findings warrant further research into implications of differences in infant body composition

Exposure to secondhand smoke, exclusive breastfeeding and infant adiposity at age 5 months in the Healthy Start study

Background: Infant adiposity may be influenced by several environmental risk factors, but few studies have explored these interactions. Objective: To examine the interaction between exposure to secondhand smoke and breastfeeding exclusivity on adiposity at age 5 months. Methods: We studied 813 mother-offspring pairs from the longitudinal Healthy Start study. Fat mass and fat-free mass were measured by air displacement plethysmography. Linear regression analyses were used to estimate the association between household smokers (none, any) with fat mass, fat-free mass, percent fat mass, weight-for-age z-score, weight-for-length z-score and BMI-for-age z-score as separate outcomes. Interaction terms between household smokers and breastfeeding exclusivity (<5 months, ≥5 months) were added to separate models. Results: The combination of exposure to secondhand smoke and a lack of exclusive breastfeeding was associated with increased adiposity at age 5 months. For example, within the not exclusively breastfed strata, exposure to secondhand smoke was associated with increased fat mass (0.1 kg; 95% CI: 0.0–0.2; P = 0.05). Conversely, within the exclusively breastfed strata, there was virtually no difference in fat mass between exposed and non-exposed infants (coefficient: −0.1; 95% CI: −0.3–0.1; P = 0.25). Conclusions: Our findings may inform new public health strategies with potential relevance for both smoking cessation and obesity prevention

Exploring the association between maternal prenatal multivitamin use and early infant growth: The Healthy Start Study

Background: Prenatal multivitamin supplementation is recommended to improve offspring outcomes, but effects on early infant growth are unknown. Objectives: We examined whether multivitamin supplementation in the year before delivery predicts offspring mass, body composition and early infant growth. Methods: Multivitamin use was assessed longitudinally in 626 women from the Healthy Start Study. Offspring body size and composition was measured with air displacement plethysmography at birth (<3 days) and postnatally (median 5.2 months). Separate multiple linear regressions assessed the relationship of weeks of daily multivitamin use with offspring mass, body composition and postnatal growth, after adjustment for potential confounders (maternal age, race, pre-pregnant body mass index; offspring gestational age at birth, sex; breastfeeding exclusivity). Results: Maternal multivitamin use was not related to offspring mass or body composition at birth, or rate of change in total or fat-free mass in the first 5 months. Multivitamin use was inversely associated with average monthly growth in offspring percent fat mass (β = −0.009, p = 0.049) between birth and postnatal exam. Offspring of non-users had a monthly increase in percent fat mass of 3.45%, while offspring at the top quartile of multivitamin users had a monthly increase in percent fat mass of 3.06%. This association was not modified by exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusions: Increased multivitamin use in the pre-conception and prenatal periods was associated with a slower rate of growth in offspring percent fat mass in the first 5 months of life. This study provides further evidence that in utero nutrient exposures may affect offspring adiposity beyond birth

Blood pressure during pregnancy, neonatal size and altered body composition: The Healthy Start study

Objective: The objective of this study is to estimate associations between changes in maternal arterial pressure during normotensive pregnancies and offspring birth weight and body composition at birth. Study Design: Prospective study of 762 pregnant normotensive Colorado women, recruited from outpatient obstetrics clinics. Repeated arterial pressure measurements during pregnancy were averaged within the second and third trimesters, respectively. Multivariable regression models estimated associations between second to third trimester changes in arterial pressure and small-for-gestational-age birth weight, fat mass, fat-free mass and percent body fat. Results: A greater second to third trimester increase in maternal arterial pressure was associated with greater odds of small-for-gestational-age birth weight. Greater increases in maternal diastolic blood pressure were associated with reductions in offspring percent body fat (-1.1% in highest vs lowest quartile of increase, 95% confidence interval: -1.9%, -0.3%). Conclusion: Mid-to-late pregnancy increases in maternal arterial pressure, which do not meet clinical thresholds for hypertension are associated with neonatal body size and composition

Combined environmental and social exposures during pregnancy and associations with neonatal size and body composition: The Healthy Start study

Background: Prenatal environmental and social exposures have been associated with decreased birth weight. However, the effects of combined exposures (CEs) in these domains are not fully understood. Here we assessed multi-domain exposures for participants in the Healthy Start study (Denver, CO) and tested associations with neonatal size and body composition. Methods: In separate linear regression models, we tested associations between neonatal outcomes and three indices for exposures. Two indices were developed to describe exposures to environmental hazards (ENV) and social determinants of health (SOC). A third index CEs in both domains (CE = ENV/10 × SOC/10). Index scores were assigned to mothers based on address at enrollment. Birth weight and length were measured at delivery, and weight-for-length z-scores were calculated using a reference distribution. Percent fat mass was obtained by air displacement plethysmography. Results: Complete data were available for 897 (64%) participants. Median (range) ENV, SOC, and CE values were 31.9 (7.1-63.2), 36.0 (2.8-75.0), and 10.9 (0.4-45.7), respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, 10-point increases in SOC and CE were associated with 27.7 g (95% confidence interval [CI] = 12.4, 42.9 g) and 56.3 g (19.4-93.2 g) decreases in birth weight, respectively. SOC and CE were also associated with decreases in percent fat mass. Conclusions: CEs during pregnancy were associated with lower birth weight and percent fat mass. Evidence of a potential synergistic effect between ENV and SOC suggests a need to more fully consider neighborhood exposures when assessing neonatal outcomes

Proinflammatory Diets during Pregnancy and Neonatal Adiposity in the Healthy Start Study

Objective: To evaluate the association between dietary inflammatory index (DII) scores during pregnancy and neonatal adiposity. Study design: The analysis included 1078 mother–neonate pairs in Healthy Start, a prospective prebirth cohort. Diet was assessed using repeated 24-hour dietary recalls. DII scores were obtained by summing nutrient intakes, which were standardized to global means and multiplied by inflammatory effect scores. Air displacement plethysmography measured fat mass and fat-free mass within 72 hours of birth. Linear and logistic models evaluated the associations of DII scores with birth weight, fat mass, fat-free mass, and percent fat mass, and with categorical outcomes of small- and large-for-gestational age. We tested for interactions with prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain. Results: The interaction between prepregnancy BMI and DII was statistically significant for birth weight, neonatal fat mass, and neonatal percent fat mass. Among neonates born to obese women, each 1-unit increase in DII was associated with increased birth weight (53 g; 95% CI, 20, 87), fat mass (20 g; 95% CI, 7-33), and percent fat mass (0.5%; 95% CI, 0.2-0.8). No interaction was detected for small- and large-for-gestational age. Each 1-unit increase in DII score was associated a 40% increase in odds of a large-for-gestational age neonate (1.4; 95% CI, 1.0-2.0; P =.04), but not a small-for-gestational age neonate (1.0; 95% CI, 0.8-1.2; P =.80). There was no evidence of an interaction with gestational weight gain. Conclusions: Our findings support the hypothesis that an increased inflammatory milieu during pregnancy may be a risk factor for neonatal adiposity. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02273297

Persistent effects of in utero overnutrition on offspring adiposity: the Exploring Perinatal Outcomes among Children (EPOCH) study

Aims/hypothesis: We previously showed that intrauterine exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases selected markers of adiposity in pre-pubertal adolescents. In the present study, we examined these associations in adolescence, and explored whether they are strengthened as the participants transition through puberty. Methods: Data from 597 individuals (505 unexposed, 92 exposed) participating in the longitudinal Exploring Perinatal Outcomes among Children (EPOCH) study in Colorado were collected at two research visits when the participants were, on average, 10.4 and 16.7 years old. Adiposity measures included BMI, waist/height ratio, and visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (as determined by MRI). Separate general linear mixed models were used to assess the longitudinal relationships between exposure to maternal GDM and each adiposity outcome. We tested whether the effect changed over time by including an interaction term between exposure and age in our models, and whether the associations were explained by postnatal behaviours. Results: Compared with unexposed participants, those exposed to maternal GDM had higher BMI (β = 1.28; 95% CI 0.35, 2.21; p < 0.007), waist/height ratio (β = 0.03; 95% CI 0.01, 0.04; p = 0.0004), visceral adipose tissue (β = 4.81; 95% CI 1.08, 8.54; p = 0.01) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (β = 35.15; 95% CI 12.43, 57.87; p < 0.003). The magnitude of these differences did not change over time and the associations did not appear to be explained by postnatal behaviours. Conclusions/interpretation: Our data provide further evidence that intrauterine exposure to maternal GDM is associated with increased offspring adiposity, an effect that appears early in life and tracks throughout adolescence. Efforts to prevent childhood obesity following intrauterine exposure to maternal GDM should target the prenatal or early life periods