Lewis Sarah J, Leary Sam, Davey Smith George, Ness Andy
Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, 39 Whatley Road, Bristol BS8 2PS, UK.
Br J Nutr. 2009 Aug;102(4):493-6. doi: 10.1017/S0007114509231746.
Nutrition during pregnancy and in early life may influence developmental plasticity and alter susceptibility to obesity and adult disease. One mechanism by which this could occur is through epigenetic changes, such as changes in methylation levels, which modify gene expression patterns. Folate intake during pregnancy, as well as maternal methyltetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genotype, influences the availability of methyl donors for methylation during gestation and therefore may be associated with offspring body composition in childhood. We looked at associations between maternal folic acid supplementation at 18 and 32 weeks of pregnancy, folate intake in the diet (from self-reported FFQ) at 32 weeks of pregnancy and offspring body composition at age 9 years among 5783 children from a population-based birth cohort study in the UK. We also looked at maternal and offspring's MTHFR C677T genotype in relation to offspring body composition. We found no evidence to support the hypothesis that intra-uterine exposure to folate influences childhood body composition.
孕期及生命早期的营养状况可能会影响发育可塑性，并改变肥胖及成人疾病的易感性。这种情况可能发生的一种机制是通过表观遗传变化，例如甲基化水平的改变，从而改变基因表达模式。孕期的叶酸摄入量以及母亲的甲基四氢叶酸还原酶（MTHFR）C677T基因型，会影响孕期甲基化过程中甲基供体的可用性，因此可能与儿童期后代的身体组成有关。在一项基于英国人群的出生队列研究中，我们观察了5783名儿童的母亲在孕期18周和32周补充叶酸、孕期32周饮食中的叶酸摄入量（通过自我报告的食物频率问卷）与9岁后代身体组成之间的关联。我们还研究了母亲和后代的MTHFR C677T基因型与后代身体组成的关系。我们没有发现证据支持子宫内叶酸暴露会影响儿童期身体组成这一假设。
