AUTHOR=Zhang Shanshan , Qin Xiaoyun , Li Peixuan , Huang Kun 

TITLE=Effect of Elective Cesarean Section on Children's Obesity From Birth to Adolescence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.793400

DOI=10.3389/fped.2021.793400

ISSN=2296-2360

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Elective cesarean section (ECS) is the most common reason for the increasing cesarean section rate worldwide, and it is reported to be related to adverse short-term and long-term outcomes in both mothers and infants. Findings on the association between ECS and overweight and obesity in children are controversial in recent studies. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effect of ECS on offspring's overweight and obesity.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), Wanfang Database (in Chinese), and China Biology Medicine disc databases were searched using different combinations of three groups of keywords: “elective cesarean section,” “overweight/obesity,” and “children.” Nine cohort studies and 11 independent risk estimates were finally identified.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>We have observed significant association between ECS and children's obesity, the total pooled risk ratio (RR) being 1.10 (95% CI: 1.01–1.18; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> = 32.4%). In subgroup analysis, ECS was found to be associated with the occurrence of obesity in preschoolers (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02–1.22; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> = 16.8%). Furthermore, it revealed that ECS was related with the high risk of children's obesity where the rate of ECS exceeded 10%. No significant association was observed between ECS and children's overweight, and the RR was 1.12 (95% CI: 0.94–1.30; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> = 55.6%).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>Overall, it indicated that children born <italic>via</italic> ECS had an increased risk of later-life obesity. Given the global increase in childhood obesity, our findings would provide evidence-based reference for early life intervention on children's obesity.</p></sec><sec><title>Systematic Review Registration</title><p><ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021267211" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021267211</ext-link>, identifier: CRD42021267211.</p></sec>