Maternal obesity associated with inflammation in their children

Background: This study explored the association between maternal obesity during pregnancy and the inflammatory markers, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and the cytokine, adiponectin, in the offspring. Methods: Weight, height, Tanner stage and biomarkers were measured in thirty-four 12-year-old children, from the Infant Growth Study, who were divided into high risk (HR) and low risk (LR) groups based on maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). Results: The two groups differed markedly in their hs-CRP levels, but no group difference was found for the other three biomarkers. The odds ratio (OR) of HR children having detectable hs-CRP levels was 16 times greater than that of LR children after adjusting for confounding variables, including BMI z-score, Tanner stages and gender (OR: 16; 95% CI: 2-123). Conclusions: These results suggest that maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with later development of elevated hs-CRP in the offspring, even after controlling for weight.