Progression of C-reactive protein from birth through preadolescence varies by mode of delivery

Alexandra R Sitarik; Christine C Johnson; Albert M Levin; Susan V Lynch; Dennis R Ownby; Andrew G Rundle; Jennifer K Straughen; Ganesa Wegienka; Kimberley J Woodcroft; Andrea E Cassidy-Bushrow

doi:10.3389/fped.2023.1155852

Progression of C-reactive protein from birth through preadolescence varies by mode of delivery

Front Pediatr. 2023 Jun 14:11:1155852. doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1155852. eCollection 2023.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health Sciences, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
² Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States.
³ Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.

Abstract

Introduction: Delivery via caesarean section (C-section) has been associated with an increased risk of childhood chronic diseases such as obesity and asthma, which may be due to underlying systemic inflammation. However, the impact of specific C-section types may be differential, as emergency C-sections typically involve partial labor and/or membrane rupture. Our objectives were to determine if mode of delivery associates with longitudinal profiles of high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) -a marker of systemic inflammation-from birth through preadolescence, and to examine if CRP mediates the association between mode of delivery and preadolescent body mass index (BMI).

Methods: Data from the WHEALS birth cohort (N = 1,258) were analyzed; 564 of the 1,258 children in the cohort had data available for analysis. Longitudinal plasma samples (birth through 10-years of age) from 564 children from were assayed for hs-CRP levels. Maternal medical records were abstracted to obtain mode of delivery. Growth mixture models (GMMs) were used to determine classes of hs-CRP trajectories. Poisson regression with robust error variance was used to calculate risk ratios (RRs).

Results: Two hs-CRP trajectory classes were identified: class 1 (76% of children) was characterized by low hs-CRP, while class 2 (24% of children) was characterized by high and steadily increasing hs-CRP. In multivariable models, children delivered via planned C-section had 1.15 times higher risk of being in hs-CRP class 2, compared to vaginal deliveries (p = 0.028), while no association was found for unplanned C-section deliveries [RR (95% CI) = 0.96 (0.84, 1.09); p = 0.49]. Further, the effect of planned C-section on BMI z-score at age 10 was significantly mediated by hs-CRP class (percent mediated = 43.4%).

Conclusions: These findings suggest potentially beneficial effects of experiencing partial or full labor, leading to a lower trajectory of systemic inflammation throughout childhood and decreased BMI during preadolescence. These findings may have implications for chronic disease development later in life.

Keywords: birth cohort; caesarean section; developmental origins of health and disease; high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; inflammation.

Grants and funding

The WHEALS study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01 HD082147; R01 AI050681; R01 HL-113010; R01 AI061774; P01 AI089473) and the Fund for Henry Ford Hospital. The authors take full responsibility of the content, which does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding bodies.