title: Parent-offspring body mass index associations in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study: a family-based approach to studying the role of the intrauterine environment in childhood adiposity.
abstract: In the present study, the authors investigated the role of the intrauterine environment in childhood adiposity by comparing the maternal-offspring body mass index (BMI) association with the paternal-offspring BMI association when the offspring were 3 years of age, using parental prepregnancy BMI (measured as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared). The parent-offspring trios (n = 29,216) were recruited during pregnancy from 2001 to 2008 into the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study conducted by The Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Data from self-administered questionnaires were used in linear regression analyses. Crude analyses showed similar parental-offspring BMI associations; the mean difference in offspring BMI was 0.15 (95% confidence interval: 0.13, 0.16) per each 1-standard-deviation increase in maternal BMI and 0.15 (95% confidence interval: 0.13, 0.17) per each 1-standard-deviation increase in paternal BMI. After all adjustments, the mean difference in offspring BMI per each 1-standard-deviation increment of maternal BMI was 0.12, and the mean difference in offspring BMI per each 1-standard-deviation increment of paternal BMI was 0.13. There was no strong support for heterogeneity between the associations (P > 0.6). In conclusion, results from the present large population-based study showed similar parental-offspring BMI associations when the offspring were 3 years of age, which indicates that the maternal-offspring association may be explained by shared familial (environmental and genetic) risk factors rather than by the intrauterine environment.
authors: Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. anne.caroline.fleten@fhi.no
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Fleten
authors: Wenche
authors: W
authors: Nystad
authors: Hein
authors: H
authors: Stigum
authors: Rolv
authors: R
authors: Skjaerven
authors: Debbie A
authors: DA
authors: Lawlor
authors: George
authors: G
authors: Davey Smith
authors: Oyvind
authors: O
authors: Naess
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015984:Causality; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D004032:Diet / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005220:Fathers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires