Influence of Maternal Obesity and Gestational Weight Gain on Maternal and Foetal Lipid Profile
Giulia Cinelli,
Marta Fabrizi,
Lucilla Ravà,
Marta Ciofi degli Atti,
Pamela Vernocchi,
Cristina Vallone,
Emanuela Pietrantoni,
Rosalba Lanciotti,
Fabrizio Signore,
Melania Manco
Affiliations
Giulia Cinelli
Research Unit for Multifactorial Disease, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico), viale di San Paolo 15, Rome 00146, Italy
Marta Fabrizi
Research Unit for Multifactorial Disease, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico), viale di San Paolo 15, Rome 00146, Italy
Lucilla Ravà
Clinical Epidemiology, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico), P.zza S. Onofrio 4, Rome 00165, Italy
Marta Ciofi degli Atti
Clinical Epidemiology, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico), P.zza S. Onofrio 4, Rome 00165, Italy
Pamela Vernocchi
Unit of Human Microbiome, Genetic and Rare Diseases Area, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico), viale di San Paolo 15, Rome 00146, Italy
Cristina Vallone
Department of Obstetrics and Gyneacology, San Camillo Hospital, Circonvallazione Gianicolense 87, Rome 00152, Italy
Emanuela Pietrantoni
Department of Obstetrics and Gyneacology, San Camillo Hospital, Circonvallazione Gianicolense 87, Rome 00152, Italy
Rosalba Lanciotti
Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Industriale Agroalimentare, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Piazza Goidanich 60, Cesena 47521, Italy
Fabrizio Signore
Department of Obstetrics and Gyneacology, San Camillo Hospital, Circonvallazione Gianicolense 87, Rome 00152, Italy
Melania Manco
Research Unit for Multifactorial Disease, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico), viale di San Paolo 15, Rome 00146, Italy
Fatty acids (FAs) are fundamental for a foetus’s growth, serving as an energy source, structural constituents of cellular membranes and precursors of bioactive molecules, as well as being essential for cell signalling. Long-chain polyunsaturated FAs (LC-PUFAs) are pivotal in brain and visual development. It is of interest to investigate whether and how specific pregnancy conditions, which alter fatty acid metabolism (excessive pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) or gestational weight gain (GWG)), affect lipid supply to the foetus. For this purpose, we evaluated the erythrocyte FAs of mothers and offspring (cord-blood) at birth, in relation to pre-pregnancy BMI and GWG. A total of 435 mothers and their offspring (237 males, 51%) were included in the study. Distribution of linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA), and their metabolites, arachidonic acid, dihomogamma linoleic (DGLA) and ecosapentanoic acid, was significantly different in maternal and foetal erythrocytes. Pre-pregnancy BMI was significantly associated with maternal percentage of MUFAs (Coeff: −0.112; p = 0.021), LA (Coeff: −0.033; p = 0.044) and DHA (Coeff. = 0.055; p = 0.0016); inadequate GWG with DPA (Coeff: 0.637; p = 0.001); excessive GWG with docosaexahenoic acid (DHA) (Coeff. = −0.714; p = 0.004). Moreover, pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with foetus percentage of PUFAs (Coeff: −0.172; p = 0.009), omega 6 (Coeff: −0.098; p = 0.015) and DHA (Coeff: −0.0285; p = 0.036), even after adjusting for maternal lipids. Our findings show that maternal GWG affects maternal but not foetal lipid profile, differently from pre-pregnancy BMI, which influences both.
