Maternal adiposity and newborn vascular health
- 1Department of Obstetrics, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 2Royal Women's Hospital Pregnancy Research Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 4Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 5Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Correspondence to Dr Michael R Skilton, Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise & Eating Disorders, Sydney Medical School, Medical Foundation Building K25, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; michael.skilton{at}sydney.edu.au
- Received 17 December 2012
- Revised 17 December 2012
- Accepted 6 January 2013
- Published Online First 27 February 2013
The prevalence of overweight and obesity in women of childbearing age is up to 60% in developed nations.1 We sought to determine whether maternal adiposity is associated with aortic wall thickening in newborns, prior to prolonged postnatal exposure to potential confounders; and if so, whether this association is independent of birth weight, a known risk factor for later cardiovascular disease.
Twenty-three pregnant women, age 35.6 years (SD 4.8; range 27.0–44.6), were recruited at 16.3 weeks gestation (SD 2.2; range 11.4–20.6) from The Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. Women who had quit smoking in the previous 6 months were excluded; however those who continued to smoke were not. Maternal height and weight were measured at study entry. Overweight and obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI)≥25 kg/m2, which we believe will not …
