Relationship of maternal weight status and weight gain rate during pregnancy to the development of advanced beta cell autoimmunity in the offspring: a prospective birth cohort study.
OBJECTIVE
This study set out to examine how maternal initial body mass index (BMI) and weight gain during pregnancy associate with advanced beta cell autoimmunity in the offspring.


METHODS
A population-based birth cohort of 4093 children with increased human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-conferred susceptibility to type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their mothers were recruited between 1997 and 2002 in two university hospital regions in Finland.


METHODS
The children were monitored for T1D-associated autoantibodies at 3- to 12-month intervals. Advanced beta cell autoimmunity was defined as repeated positivity for islet cell antibodies and at least one of the other three autoantibodies (antibodies to insulin, glutamate decarboxylase and islet antigen 2). Mothers were asked to record the results of the weight measurements during their first and last visits to the antenatal clinic. The initial BMI and weight gain rate were calculated for each woman.


RESULTS
Altogether, 175 children developed advanced beta cell autoimmunity or T1D during the follow-up. Maternal BMI before pregnancy or weight gain during pregnancy was not associated with the end-point. Maternal vocational education was associated with child's smaller risk of developing advanced beta cell autoimmunity.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Oulu, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland. tuula.arkkola@oulu.fi
Tuula
T
Arkkola
Susanna
S
Kautiainen
Hanna-Mari
HM
Takkinen
Mike G
MG
Kenward
Jaakko
J
Nevalainen
Ulla
U
Uusitalo
Olli
O
Simell
Jorma
J
Ilonen
Mikael
M
Knip
Riitta
R
Veijola
Suvi M
SM
Virtanen
D000328:Adult; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*