Maternal Childhood Adversity, Prepregnancy Obesity, and Gestational Weight Gain
Date
2016
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Publisher
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Abstract
Introduction: Growing evidence suggests that exposure to childhood adversity may influence obesity across the life course. High maternal weight complicates pregnancy and increases the risk of child obesity. This study examined the association between maternal childhood adversity and pregnancy-related weight in a large U.S. sample. Methods: Data on 6,199 pregnancies from 2,873 women followed from 1979 to 2012 by the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 were analyzed in 2014. Associations between three adversity exposures before age 18 years (history of physical abuse, alcohol problems, or mental illness in the household) and two maternal weight outcomes (prepregnancy obesity and excessive gestational weight gain) were modeled separately using survey-adjusted log-binomial models. Results: After adjusting for race/ethnicity and early life socioeconomic factors, childhood physical abuse was associated with a 60% increase in the risk of prepregnancy obesity (adjusted risk ratio [RR]=1.6, 95% CI=1.1, 2.2). Household alcohol abuse was associated with a 30% increase in prepregnancy obesity (RR=1.3, 95% CI=1.0, 1.7), as was household mental illness (RR=1.3, 95% CI=0.8, 1.9), but the mental illness exposure was not significant. Physical abuse and household alcohol abuse were associated with a significant 20% increase in the risk of excessive gestational weight gain; mental illness was not. Conclusions: Adversity in early life may affect maternal weight before and during pregnancy. Screening and treating women of reproductive age for childhood adversity and its negative effects could significantly reduce obesity-related health outcomes for women and their children. (Author Abstract)
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Keywords
child abuse, long term effects, medical complications, research
Citation
Ranchod, Y. K., Headen, I. E., Petito, L. C., Deardorff, J. K., Rehkopf, D. H., & Abrams, B. F. (2016). Maternal childhood adversity, prepregnancy obesity, and gestational weight gain. American journal of preventive medicine, 50(4), 463-469.