AUTHOR=Dow Courtney , Lorthe Elsa , Galera Cédric , Tafflet Muriel , Marchand-Martin Laetitia , Ancel Pierre-Yves , Charles Marie-Aline , Heude Barbara 

TITLE=High maternal pre-pregnancy BMI is associated with increased offspring peer-relationship problems at 5 years

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 1 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/child-and-adolescent-psychiatry/articles/10.3389/frcha.2022.971743

DOI=10.3389/frcha.2022.971743

ISSN=2813-4540

ABSTRACT=Background: Peer relationships are an important aspect of child development that are often overlooked. Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) may influence peer relationships by affecting fetal neurodevelopment or through postnatal mechanisms including social discrimination of the obese mother/child. This study aimed to determine the relationship between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and child peer-relationship problems around 5 years old, including preterm and term-born children. 

Methods and Findings: Maternal BMI and offspring peer-relationship problems were assessed in participants of three French birth cohorts: EDEN (n=1184 children born at term), ELFE (n=10 889 children born ≥33 weeks of gestation) and EPIPAGE-2 (n=2646 children born 23-34 weeks of gestation). Reported or measured pre-pregnancy weight (kg) and height (m) were collected from mothers and used to calculate BMI (kg/m²). Offspring peer-relationship problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at 5.5 years. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) of a high peer-relationship problem score (≥3) in EDEN and ELFE, and generalized estimated equations were used in EPIPAGE-2 to account for the large number of multiple births. Paternal BMI was used as a negative control in sensitivity analyses. Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity was associated with increased odds of a high peer-relationship problem score in all three cohorts, independent of confounding factors (adjusted OR 2.27 [1.32, 3.88]; 1.52 [1.29, 1.78]; 1.44 [1.04, 1.99]; for EDEN, ELFE and EPIPAGE-2, respectively). Additional analysis based on negative controls (ie. adjusting for paternal BMI) showed the same pattern of associations. 

Conclusion: High maternal pre-pregnancy BMI is associated with greater likelihood of a high peer-relationship trouble score in offspring around 5 years of age in both children born preterm and at term.