Association between maternal erythrocyte polyunsaturated fatty acid levels during pregnancy and offspring weight status: A birth cohort study

Shengchi Wu; Feng Zhao; Yannan He; Tingchao He; Sufang Duan; Gang Feng; Yujing Chen; Xin Wang; Ignatius Man-Yau Szeto; Lizi Lin; Li Cai

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.978679

Association between maternal erythrocyte polyunsaturated fatty acid levels during pregnancy and offspring weight status: A birth cohort study

Front Nutr. 2022 Sep 29:9:978679. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.978679. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shengchi Wu¹, Feng Zhao², Yannan He², Tingchao He^{3

4}, Sufang Duan^{4

5}, Gang Feng^{3

4}, Yujing Chen¹, Xin Wang¹, Ignatius Man-Yau Szeto^{3

5}, Lizi Lin⁶, Li Cai^{1

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
² Institute of Nutrition & Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
³ Yili Maternal and Infant Nutrition Institute, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd., Hohhot, China.
⁴ Inner Mongolia Dairy Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., Hohhot, China.
⁵ Nutrition and Health Research Center, National Center of Technology Innovation for Dairy, Hohhot, China.
⁶ Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
⁷ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: The findings of the association between maternal polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels during pregnancy and offspring weight status are controversial. Furthermore, few studies have focused on Asian populations or used erythrocyte membranes as biological markers. We aimed to examine the associations between maternal erythrocyte PUFA and offspring weight status within the first 2 years among the Chinese population.

Materials and methods: A total of 607 mother-child pairs were recruited from a birth cohort. Maternal erythrocyte n-3 and n-6 PUFA during pregnancy were measured by gas chromatography, and the ratio of PUFA was calculated. Weight- and body mass index (BMI)-for-age z (WAZ and BAZ) scores were calculated for offspring at 1, 3, 6, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months of age. The risk of overweight and obesity was defined by the WHO criterion. The Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model was carried out for repeated anthropometric data within 2 years of age.

Results: Maternal erythrocyte docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, n-3) was inversely associated with offspring BAZ score [tertile 2 vs. tertile 1, β: -0.18 (-0.29, -0.00)]. Higher maternal erythrocyte arachidonic acid (AA) was inversely associated with lower offspring WAZ and BAZ [tertile 3 vs. tertile 1, β: -0.18 (-0.35, -0.02), -0.22 (-0.38, -0.06), respectively]. Furthermore, higher maternal erythrocyte AA [tertile 3 vs. tertile 1, odds ratio [OR]: 0.52 (0.36, 0.75), p _trend < 0.001] and total n-6 PUFA [tertile 3 vs. tertile 1, OR: 0.56 (0.39, 0.81), p _trend = 0.002] were associated with decreased risk of overweight and obesity in offspring. Maternal erythrocyte n-6/n-3 PUFA and AA/eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratios were not associated with offspring weight status.

Conclusion: Maternal erythrocyte PUFA might influence offspring weight status within 2 years of age in the Chinese population. Further Asian studies are still needed.

Keywords: birth cohort; offspring; polyunsaturated fatty acid; pregnancy; weight status.