TY - JOUR
T1 - Maternal metabolic adaptations to pregnancy among young women in Cebu, Philippines
AU - Fried, Ruby L.
AU - Mayol, Nanette L.
AU - Mcdade, Thom W.
AU - Kuzawa, Christopher W.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the Filipino participants who generously provided their time, and researchers at the Office of Population Studies, University of San Carlos, Cebu, Philippines for their role in study design and data collection. Supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-0746320). Fieldwork and sample collection were also supported by pilot funds from the Interdisciplinary Obesity Center (RR20649) and the Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility (ES10126; project 7-2004-E). RLF is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
PY - 2017/9/1
Y1 - 2017/9/1
N2 - Objectives: Evidence that fetal development has long-term impacts on health has increased interest in maternal-fetal nutrient exchange. Although maternal metabolism is known to change during gestation to accommodate fetal nutrient demands, little is known about these modifications outside of a Western, clinical context. This study characterizes maternal metabolic adaptations to pregnancy, and their associations with offspring birth weight (BW), among women living in the Philippines. METHODS: Fasting glucose, triglycerides, insulin, leptin, and adiponectin were assessed in 808 participants in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (Metropolitan Cebu, Philippines). Cross-sectional relationships between metabolites and hormones and gestational and lactational status were evaluated. Among the subset of currently pregnant women, associations between maternal glucose and triglycerides and offspring BW were also examined. RESULTS: Women in their second and third trimesters had significantly lower fasting glucose and adiponectin compared to nulliparous women, and leptin levels and triglyceride levels were notably higher late in pregnancy (all P <.05). Among pregnant women, fasting glucose was a positive predictor of offspring BW, but only in males (P =.012, R2 =.28). Hormones and metabolites in post-partum women trend back toward levels found in nulliparous women, with some differences by breastfeeding status. CONCLUSIONS: We find evidence for marked changes in maternal lipid and carbohydrate metabolism during pregnancy, consistent with known adaptations to support fetal growth. The finding of sex-specific relationships between maternal glucose and offspring BW adds to evidence for greater impacts of the maternal-gestational environment on biology and health in male offspring.
AB - Objectives: Evidence that fetal development has long-term impacts on health has increased interest in maternal-fetal nutrient exchange. Although maternal metabolism is known to change during gestation to accommodate fetal nutrient demands, little is known about these modifications outside of a Western, clinical context. This study characterizes maternal metabolic adaptations to pregnancy, and their associations with offspring birth weight (BW), among women living in the Philippines. METHODS: Fasting glucose, triglycerides, insulin, leptin, and adiponectin were assessed in 808 participants in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (Metropolitan Cebu, Philippines). Cross-sectional relationships between metabolites and hormones and gestational and lactational status were evaluated. Among the subset of currently pregnant women, associations between maternal glucose and triglycerides and offspring BW were also examined. RESULTS: Women in their second and third trimesters had significantly lower fasting glucose and adiponectin compared to nulliparous women, and leptin levels and triglyceride levels were notably higher late in pregnancy (all P <.05). Among pregnant women, fasting glucose was a positive predictor of offspring BW, but only in males (P =.012, R2 =.28). Hormones and metabolites in post-partum women trend back toward levels found in nulliparous women, with some differences by breastfeeding status. CONCLUSIONS: We find evidence for marked changes in maternal lipid and carbohydrate metabolism during pregnancy, consistent with known adaptations to support fetal growth. The finding of sex-specific relationships between maternal glucose and offspring BW adds to evidence for greater impacts of the maternal-gestational environment on biology and health in male offspring.
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U2 - 10.1002/ajhb.23011
DO - 10.1002/ajhb.23011
M3 - Article
C2 - 28429514
AN - SCOPUS:85018572909
VL - 29
JO - American Journal of Human Biology
JF - American Journal of Human Biology
SN - 1042-0533
IS - 5
M1 - e23011
ER -