Does Birthweight Represent Imprinting for Life? Preliminary Findings from the Level and Timing of Diabetic Hyperglycemia in Utero: Transgenerational Effect on Adult Morbidity (TEAM) Study
Jane C. Khoury,
Mekibib Altaye,
Shelley Ehrlich,
Suzanne Summer,
Nicholas J. Ollberding,
Rhonda Szczesniak,
Resmi Gupta,
Patrick Catalano,
Katherine Bowers
Affiliations
Jane C. Khoury
Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
Mekibib Altaye
Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
Shelley Ehrlich
Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
Suzanne Summer
Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
Nicholas J. Ollberding
Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
Rhonda Szczesniak
Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
Resmi Gupta
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Clinical and Translational Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Patrick Catalano
Mother Infant Research Institute, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Friedman School of Nutrition, Science and Policy, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA
Katherine Bowers
Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
Women with pre-gestational diabetes have a high rate of large for gestational age (LGA) babies compared to women without diabetes. In particular, there is a high rate of asymmetric LGA defined as ponderal index (PI) > 90th percentile for gestational age. We examined the association of birth weight and PI, with body mass index (BMI) and obesity status in adulthood, in a cohort of offspring of women with pre-gestational diabetes. The women participated in the Diabetes in Pregnancy (DiP) study at the University of Cincinnati from 1978 to 1995. The offspring of these women are the cohort participating in an observational study being conducted at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Once located, the offspring were invited to come in for a one-day clinic visit to assess anthropometrics, and their metabolic, renal and cardiovascular status. Linear and logistic regression was used to assess the association between birth weight and PI with current BMI. We report on 107 offspring. A statistically significant association was found between offspring current BMI with birth PI (β = 1.89, 95% CI 0.40–3.38), and between offspring current obesity status and birth asymmetric LGA (aOR = 2.44, 95% CI 1.01–5.82). This is consistent with in utero “metabolic programming”.
