Abstract
Background
The intrauterine environment affects growth and adiposity acquisition from the fetal period until adulthood. Mild sleep disordered breathing (SDB) during pregnancy is a common underdiagnosed medical condition in healthy women. We aimed to investigate the interaction between maternal isolated SDB during the third trimester of pregnancy and the offspring’s growth and adiposity during the first three years of life.
Methods
Healthy pregnant women in the third trimester of an uncomplicated singleton pregnancy who were followed at the low-risk obstetric surveillance clinic of our hospital were recruited between 4/2013 and 5/2016. They were followed from enrollment until their offspring was three years old. During their third trimester of pregnancy, they underwent an ambulatory overnight sleep study by means of a validated sleep technology [SDB defined as apnea hypopnea index (AHI) ≥5]. Fasting blood samples were drawn on the following morning for glucose, insulin, HbA1c, lipid profile and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. The offspring’s growth (length, weight and head circumference) and adiposity (subscapular and triceps skinfolds) parameters were measured at birth, 1 and 4 months, and 1, 2, and 3 years of age. Growth parameters were presented as standard deviation scores using the CDC growth charts. A general linear model was used to evaluate the interaction between maternal SDB and her offspring’s growth and adiposity measurements, after controlling for gestational week at delivery and maternal and paternal body mass index (BMI).
Results
Fourteen of 58 women (24.1%) were diagnosed with SDB (AHI range 5.3–14.7). They had a significantly higher mean BMI during the third trimester of pregnancy (30.1 ± 3.9 vs 27.2 ± 3.5, P = 0.011), elevated CRP levels, and decreased HDL-cholesterol levels (6.39 ± 2.29 mg/L vs 4.28 ± 2.15 mg/L, P = 0.003 and 67 ± 14 mg/dl vs 82 ± 19 mg/dl, P = 0.009, respectively) compared to women with normal sleep study results. Offspring of mothers with SDB had a smaller mean head circumference SDS at birth (-0.95 ± 0.70 vs -0.30 ± 0.71, P = 0.004), with a distinctive pattern of catchup growth by the end of the first year of life (P = 0.018). They also had increased mean adiposity at birth measured by triceps and subscapular skinfolds (6.8 ± 1.8 mm vs 5.4 ± 1.2 mm, P =0.002 and 5.8 ± 1.3 mm vs 5.0 ± 1.0 mm, P =0.019, respectively), with a distinctive pattern of increased triceps thickness at age 3 years (P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in offspring length or weight between groups.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that isolated maternal SDB during pregnancy affected longitudinal head circumference growth and adiposity acquisition in the fetus and during the first three years of life.
Fetal neuromatuation in late gestation is affected by maternal sleep disordered breathing and sleep disruption in pregnant women with obesity
