Association of Prepregnancy Obesity and Remodeled Maternal-Fetal Plasma Fatty Acid Profiles.

BACKGROUND

Fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), are found abundantly in the brain and are fundamental for a fetus's growth. The fatty acid profiles of mothers and fetuses may be affected by maternal prepregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI), thus affecting fetal growth and development.

METHODS

A total of 103 mother-fetus pairs were divided into overweight/obese (OW, = 26), normal weight (NW, = 60), and underweight (UW, = 17) groups according to pre-BMI. Fatty acid profiles in maternal and umbilical cord plasma were analyzed by gas chromatography.

RESULTS

The infant birth BMI -score of the OW group was higher than that of the NW and UW groups ( < 0.05). The OW mothers had significantly higher plasma n-6 PUFA and n-6/n-3, but lower docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and n-3 PUFA ( < 0.05). In cord plasma, the proportions of DHA and n-3 PUFA were lower in the OW group ( < 0.05), whereas the n-6/n-3 ratio was higher in the OW group ( < 0.05). The pre-BMI was negatively correlated with cord plasma DHA in all subjects ( = -0.303, = 0.002), and the same negative correlation can be observed in the OW group ( = -0.561, = 0.004), but not in the NW and UW groups ( > 0.05). The pre-BMI was positively correlated with cord plasma n-6/n-3 in all subjects ( = 0.325, = 0.001), and the same positive correlation can be found in the OW group ( = 0.558, = 0.004), but not in NW and UW groups ( > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal pre-BMI was associated with the maternal-fetal plasma fatty acid profiles, whereas the adverse fatty acid profiles are more noticeable in the prepregnancy OW mothers.