Maternal obesity and offspring's cardiovascular morbidity – Results from a population based cohort study

Objective: To investigate whether maternal obesity poses a risk for long-term cardiovascular morbidity in the offspring. Study design: Data were analyzed from a non-selective population of all infants born between the years 1991–2014 at the tertiary Soroka University Medical Center (SUMC), the sole hospital in the southern region of Israel. Offspring's cardiovascular morbidity from childbirth up to eighteen years old was compared among children whom their mothers were with and without obesity (maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2). Kaplan–Meier survival curve was used to compare cumulative incidence of cardiovascular hospitalizations. Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for long-term cardiovascular hospitalizations. Results: A total of 242,342 deliveries met the inclusion criteria, 3290 (1.36%) had a BMI > 30 kg/m2. Total cardiovascular hospitalizations were comparable between the study groups (1.1% vs. 0.6%, OR = 1.79; 1.28–2.50). The Kaplan-Meier survival curve exhibited a difference in the cumulative incidence of total cardiovascular hospitalizations of the offspring (log-rank test, p < 0.001). In the Cox multi-variable analysis, a significant association was noted between obesity and cardiovascular morbidity even after adjustment for confounders such as maternal age, gestational age, hypertension and diabetes (adjusted HR = 1.59, 95% Cl 1.14–2.21). Conclusion: Maternal obesity is an independent risk factor for long-term cardiovascular morbidity in the offspring.