Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Nutritional Status and Physical Activity Levels and a Sports Injury Reported in Children: A Seven-Year Follow-Up Study.

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to analyze dose-response associations between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and physical activity levels with childhood sports injury rates.

METHODS

Participants included pre-pregnant mothers ( = 4811) and their children at the age of 7 years ( = 3311). Maternal anthropometry (height, weight, and body mass index), time spent in physical activity, and education level were recorded. All sports injuries were defined as injuries reported in the past year by the children at the age of 7 years.

RESULTS

Children whose mothers were overweight/obese in the pre-pregnancy period were 2.04 (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.12-3.71) times more likely to report a sports injury at the age of 7 years. Underweight mothers exhibited a 74% decrease in the odds of their children reporting a sports injury at follow-up (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.10-0.68). Finally, an increase in maternal physical activity across the last three quartiles was associated with a lower odds of sports injuries.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of reporting a sports injury was greater for children whose mothers were overweight/obese in the pre-pregnancy period. However, there was a lower risk with both maternal underweight status and increasing minutes of physical activity.