TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between cesarean delivery types and obesity in preadolescence
AU - Sitarik, Alexandra R.
AU - Havstad, Suzanne L.
AU - Johnson, Christine C.
AU - Jones, Kyra
AU - Levin, Albert M.
AU - Lynch, Susan V.
AU - Ownby, Dennis R.
AU - Rundle, Andrew G.
AU - Straughen, Jennifer K.
AU - Wegienka, Ganesa
AU - Woodcroft, Kimberley J.
AU - Yong, Germaine J.M.
AU - Cassidy-Bushrow, Andrea E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
PY - 2020/10/1
Y1 - 2020/10/1
N2 - Background/objectives: The association between mode of delivery and childhood obesity remains inconclusive. Because few studies have separated C-section types (planned or unplanned C-section), our objective was to assess how these subtypes relate to preadolescent obesity. Subjects/methods: The study consisted of 570 maternal–child pairs drawn from the WHEALS birth cohort based in Detroit, Michigan. Children were followed-up at 10 years of age where a variety of anthropometric measurements were collected. Obesity was defined based on BMI percentile (≥95th percentile), as well as through Gaussian finite mixture modeling on the anthropometric measurements. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for obesity comparing planned and unplanned C-sections to vaginal deliveries were computed, which utilized inverse probability weights to account for loss to follow-up and multiple imputation for covariate missingness. Mediation models were fit to examine the mediation role of breastfeeding. Results: After adjusting for marital status, maternal race, prenatal tobacco smoke exposure, maternal age, maternal BMI, any hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, prenatal antibiotic use, child sex, parity, and birthweight z-score, children born via planned C-section had 1.77 times higher risk of obesity (≥95th percentile), relative to those delivered vaginally ((95% CI) = (1.16, 2.72); p = 0.009). No association was found comparing unplanned C-section to vaginal delivery (RR (95% CI) = 0.75 (0.45, 1.23); p = 0.25). The results were similar but slightly stronger when obesity was defined by anthropometric class (RR (95% CI) = 2.78 (1.47, 5.26); p = 0.002). Breastfeeding did not mediate the association between mode of delivery and obesity. Conclusions: These findings indicate that children delivered via planned C-section—but not unplanned C-section—have a higher risk of preadolescent obesity, suggesting that partial labor or membrane rupture (typically experienced during unplanned C-section delivery) may offer protection. Additional research is needed to understand the biological mechanisms behind this effect, including whether microbiological differences fully or partially account for the association.
AB - Background/objectives: The association between mode of delivery and childhood obesity remains inconclusive. Because few studies have separated C-section types (planned or unplanned C-section), our objective was to assess how these subtypes relate to preadolescent obesity. Subjects/methods: The study consisted of 570 maternal–child pairs drawn from the WHEALS birth cohort based in Detroit, Michigan. Children were followed-up at 10 years of age where a variety of anthropometric measurements were collected. Obesity was defined based on BMI percentile (≥95th percentile), as well as through Gaussian finite mixture modeling on the anthropometric measurements. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for obesity comparing planned and unplanned C-sections to vaginal deliveries were computed, which utilized inverse probability weights to account for loss to follow-up and multiple imputation for covariate missingness. Mediation models were fit to examine the mediation role of breastfeeding. Results: After adjusting for marital status, maternal race, prenatal tobacco smoke exposure, maternal age, maternal BMI, any hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, prenatal antibiotic use, child sex, parity, and birthweight z-score, children born via planned C-section had 1.77 times higher risk of obesity (≥95th percentile), relative to those delivered vaginally ((95% CI) = (1.16, 2.72); p = 0.009). No association was found comparing unplanned C-section to vaginal delivery (RR (95% CI) = 0.75 (0.45, 1.23); p = 0.25). The results were similar but slightly stronger when obesity was defined by anthropometric class (RR (95% CI) = 2.78 (1.47, 5.26); p = 0.002). Breastfeeding did not mediate the association between mode of delivery and obesity. Conclusions: These findings indicate that children delivered via planned C-section—but not unplanned C-section—have a higher risk of preadolescent obesity, suggesting that partial labor or membrane rupture (typically experienced during unplanned C-section delivery) may offer protection. Additional research is needed to understand the biological mechanisms behind this effect, including whether microbiological differences fully or partially account for the association.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41366-020-00663-8
DO - 10.1038/s41366-020-00663-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 32873910
AN - SCOPUS:85090067458
SN - 0307-0565
VL - 44
SP - 2023
EP - 2034
JO - International Journal of Obesity
JF - International Journal of Obesity
IS - 10
ER -