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The impact of maternal obesity on childhood neurodevelopment

Journal of Perinatology volume 41, pages 928–939 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

There is growing clinical and experimental evidence to suggest that maternal obesity increases children’s susceptibility to neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. Given the worldwide obesity epidemic, it is crucial that we acquire a thorough understanding of the available evidence, identify gaps in knowledge, and develop an agenda for intervention. This review synthesizes human and animal studies investigating the association between maternal obesity and offspring brain health. It also highlights key mechanisms underlying these effects, including maternal and fetal inflammation, alterations to the microbiome, epigenetic modifications of neurotrophic genes, and impaired dopaminergic and serotonergic signaling. Lastly, this review highlights several proposed interventions and priorities for future investigation.

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Fig. 1: Potential mechanisms underlying the effects of maternal obesity on offspring neurodevelopment.

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Acknowledgements

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  1. Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Lilin Tong

  2. Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Brian T. Kalish

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LT performed the literature review. LT and BTK co-wrote the paper. LT created the Table and Figure.

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Tong, L., Kalish, B.T. The impact of maternal obesity on childhood neurodevelopment. J Perinatol 41, 928–939 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00871-0

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