Maternal hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and early childhood cardiometabolic risk factors: The Generation R Study

The objective of this study was to determine the associations between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and early childhood cardiometabolic risk factors in the offspring. Therefore, 7794 women from the Generation Rotterdam Study were included, an ongoing population-based prospective birth cohort. Women with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy were classified as such when they were affected by pregnancy induced hypertension, pre-eclampsia or the haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome during pregnancy. Early childhood cardiometabolic risk factors were defined as the body mass index at the age of 2, 6, 12, 36 months and 6 years. Additionally, it included systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total fat mass, cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin and clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors at 6 years of age. Sex-specific differences in the associations between hypertensive disorders and early childhood cardiometabolic risk factors were investigated. Maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were inversely associated with childhood body mass index at 12 months (confounder model: -0.15 SD, 95% CI -0.27; -0.03) and childhood triglyceride at 6 years of age (confounder model: -0.28 SD, 95% CI -0.45; -0.10). For the association with triglycerides, this was only present in girls. Maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were not associated with childhood body mass index at 2, 6 and 36 months. No associations were observed between maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, fat mass index and cholesterol levels at 6 years of age. Our findings do not support an independent and consistent association between maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and early childhood cardiometabolic risk factors in their offspring. However, this does not rule out possible longer term effects of maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on offspring cardiometabolic health.

Comparison analysis of childhood body mass index cut-offs in predicting adulthood carotid intima media thickness: Tehran lipid and glucose study

Background The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescences have been increased, which can consequently increase the prevalence of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases later in life. The objective of this study is to compare the ability of different childhood body mass index cut-offs in prediction of carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) as an indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis. Methods Participants were categorized into normal weight, overweight and obesity group, based on world health organization (WHO), center for disease control and prevention (CDC), international obesity task force (IOTF) and local IOTF cut-offs. After 18 years of follow up CIMT was measured. Akaike’s information criterion and relative efficiency were measured in order to compare regression models on the role of obesity on CIMT. Results In this prospective cohort study, 1295 subjects aged 3 to 18 years old were enrolled. The overall prevalence of overweight was 15.4, 11.5, 16.3 and 14.1 along with obesity prevalence of 6.6, 8.5, 7.7 and 5.0% based on WHO, CDC, local IOTF and international IOTF criteria, respectively. CIMT was higher in obese compare to normal groups across all classification criteria. After regression analysis, international IOTF was the best to predict adulthood CIMT, followed by local IOTF and WHO. CDC had the least discriminatory ability. Conclusion Due to the results of this study, IOTF could be a better tool in national and international surveillances of children in order to define overweight and obesity, which can help us to intervene more effectively in reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases.

Obesity during childhood is associated with higher cancer mortality rate during adulthood: the i3C Consortium

Background In high-income countries, cancer is the leading cause of death among middle-aged adults. Prospective data on the effects of childhood risk exposures on subsequent cancer mortality are scarce. Methods We examined whether childhood body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, glucose and lipid levels were associated with adult cancer mortality, using data from 21,012 children enrolled aged 3–19 years in seven prospective cohort studies from the U.S., Australia, and Finland that have followed participants from childhood into adulthood. Cancer mortality (cancer as a primary or secondary cause of death) was captured using registries. Results 354 cancer deaths occurred over the follow-up. In age-, sex, and cohort-adjusted analyses, childhood BMI (Hazard ratio [HR], 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–1.24 per 1-SD increase) and childhood glucose (HR 1.22; 95%CI 1.01–1.47 per 1-SD increase), were associated with subsequent cancer mortality. In a multivariable analysis adjusted for age, sex, cohort, and childhood measures of fasting glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure, childhood BMI remained as an independent predictor of subsequent cancer mortality (HR, 1.24; 95%CI, 1.03–1.49). The association of childhood BMI and subsequent cancer mortality persisted after adjustment for adulthood BMI (HR for childhood BMI, 1.35; 95%CI 1.12–1.63). Conclusions Higher childhood BMI was independently associated with increased overall cancer mortality.

Birthweight, Childhood Body Mass Index, Height and Growth, and Risk of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Adult obesity is linked with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but the importance of body size at ages before PCOS is diagnosed is unknown. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> To investigate associations between a woman’s own birthweight, childhood body mass index (BMI), height and growth patterns in relation to her risk of PCOS. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We included 65,665 girls from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register, born in the period 1960–1996, with information on birthweight and measured weight and height at the ages of 7–13 years. Overweight was defined using International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) criteria. From the Danish National Patient Register, 606 women aged 15–50 years were identified. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by Cox regression analysis. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Birthweight was not associated with PCOS. At the age of 7–13 years, girls with overweight had a higher risk of developing PCOS than girls without overweight; HR 2.83 (95% CI 2.34–3.42) at age 7 years and 2.99 (95% CI 2.38–3.76) at age 13 years. Furthermore, girls with overweight at both 7 and 13 years had a higher risk of developing PCOS than girls without overweight or overweight at only one age. Height was positively associated with PCOS risk at all ages. Girls who were persistently tall or changed from tall to average height had a higher risk of developing PCOS than girls with average height growth. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Overweight and tall stature in childhood are positively associated with PCOS risk, but birthweight is not.