title: Trajectories of maternal gestational weight gain and child cognition assessed at 5 years of age in a prospective cohort study.
abstract: There has been concern that low gestational weight gain may cause poor fetal neurodevelopment.
  
  
  
  The association between maternal weight gain and child IQ was examined using serial antenatal weight measurements (median 12) from a prospective cohort of non-obese Scandinavian women (1986-1988). Linear mixed models with piecewise regression were used to estimate participants' (n=552) trimester-specific average rate of weight gain. Linear regression was used to assess the association between weight gain and children's (n=344) full-scale, performance and verbal IQ measured at age 5 using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence-Revised.
  
  
  
  Children born to mothers who gained below versus within the 2nd trimester 2009 recommendations tended to have lower IQ scores (Full-scale: 106.6 (SD 15.1) vs 110.2 (15.2), p=0.04; verbal: 102.5 (14.3) vs 105.0 (14.9), p=0.10; performance: 109.5 (15.4) vs 113.4 (14.5), p=0.03). After adjustment there were no differences in child IQ by weight gain adequacy (full-scale: βbelow=-1.1 (95% CI -5.1 to 2.9), βabove=1.5 (-3.8 to 6.8); verbal: βbelow=-0.2 (-3.1 to 2.6), βabove=1.8 (-3.6 to 7.3); performance βbelow=-1.2 (-4.6 to 2.2), βabove=1.0 (-4.6 to 6.7)). No differences were observed based on 3rd trimester adequacy. No differences were observed in IQ scores by quintile of weight gain for any trimester, particularly after adjustment for maternal IQ.
  
  
  
  Our findings are reassuring that among normal weight women, pregnancy weight gain is not associated with child cognitive development. Further investigation should be conducted in contemporary cohorts that also include obese mothers, who are at the greatest risk for low weight gain.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Stefanie N
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4312-708X
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Hinkle
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Lindsey A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Sjaarda
authors.affiliation: Office of the Director, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Jagteshwar
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grewal
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Grantz
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015430:Weight Gain
keywords: CHILD HEALTH; COGNITION; MATERNAL HEALTH; MEASUREMENT; PREGNANCY