Maternal obesity and long-term infectious morbidity of the offspring

Gil Gutvirtz, Eyal Sheiner, Tamar Wainstock, Daniella Landau

Research output: Contribution to journalMeeting Abstract

Abstract

Objective
Maternal obesity is a well-known risk factor for short-term adverse perinatal outcomes. Studies show that obese patients have impaired immune function that leads to an increased susceptibility to infections. We sought to evaluate the long-term pediatric infectious morbidity of children born to obese patients.

Study Design
A population-based cohort analysis was performed comparing all deliveries of obese (maternal pre- pregnancy body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or more) and non-obese patients between 1991-2014 at a single tertiary medical center. Hospitalizations of the offspring up to the age of 18 years involving infectious morbidities were evaluated according to a predefined set of ICD-9 codes, including: respiratory, gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections, pneumonia and bronchiolitis, meningitis, otitis and selected viral infections. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to compare cumulative hospitalization incidence between the groups. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to control for confounders.

Results
During the study period, 242,342 deliveries met the inclusion criteria. Of them, 3,290 were children of obese mothers. Hospitalizations involving infectious morbidity were significantly more common in children born to obese mothers compared with children born to non-obese patients (11.8% vs. 10.0%, OR=1.21, 95% CI 1.10-1.35, p<0.01, Table). The Kaplan-Meier survival curve demonstrated a significantly higher cumulative incidence of infectious- related hospitalizations in the obese group (log rank p<0.01, Figure). In the Cox regression model, while controlling for maternal age, gestational age, gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and mode of delivery, maternal obesity was found to be an independent risk factor for long-term infectious morbidity of the offspring (adjusted HR=1.13, 95% CI 1.02-1.25, p=0.01).

Conclusion
Maternal obesity is an independent risk factor for long-term pediatric infectious morbidity of the offspring.
Original languageEnglish GB
Pages (from-to)S557-S557
JournalAmerican Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Volume220
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2019

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