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  • Original Article
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Maternal and pediatric nutrition

Maternal obesity during pregnancy is negatively associated with maternal and neonatal iron status

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Obesity among pregnant women may adversely affect both maternal iron status throughout pregnancy and placental transfer of iron. The objective of this study was to determine the association of maternal body mass index (BMI) with (1) maternal iron status and inflammation in mid and late pregnancy, (2) the change in maternal iron status throughout pregnancy and (3) neonatal iron status.

Subjects/Methods:

We examined longitudinal data from 1613 participants in a pregnancy iron supplementation trial in rural China. Women with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies were enrolled in the early second trimester of pregnancy and followed through parturition. Maternal blood samples obtained at enrollment and in the third trimester and cord blood samples were analyzed for a range of hematological and iron biomarkers.

Results:

There was a negative association between maternal BMI and iron status at enrollment (transferrin receptor (sTfR): r=0.20, P<0.001; body iron (BI): r=−0.05; P=0.03). This association was markedly stronger among obese women. Maternal BMI was positively associated with maternal inflammation (C-reactive protein: r=0.33, P<0.001). In multiple linear regression models, maternal BMI was negatively associated with neonatal iron status (cord serum ferritin: −0.01, P=0.008; BI: −0.06, P=0.006) and associated with a lower decrease in iron status throughout pregnancy (sTfR: −4.6, P<0.001; BI: 1.1, P=0.004).

Conclusions:

Maternal obesity during pregnancy may adversely affect both maternal and neonatal iron status, potentially through inflammatory pathways.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Blair Richards for his assistance with data management and data cleaning. This study was financially supported by a grant from Vifor Pharma Ltd., Gengli Zhao, Principal Investigator. The laboratory measures of iron status were supported by a grant from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), R01 HD052069, Betsy Lozoff, Principal Investigator, which included funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Office of Dietary Supplements. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Vifor or NIH. Authors had full control of primary data and did not have an agreement with the funders that limited their ability to complete the research as planned.

Author contributions

AJ developed the research question, designed the primary analyses and drafted the manuscript. GZ, ZZ and BL contributed to the study conception and design. GZ, YP, MZ and GX contributed to data collection. NK contributed to statistical analyses. AJ and BL had primary responsibility for the final content of the manuscript. All authors critically revised the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to A D Jones.

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Jones, A., Zhao, G., Jiang, Yp. et al. Maternal obesity during pregnancy is negatively associated with maternal and neonatal iron status. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 918–924 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.229

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