Kadam Isma'il, Dalloul Mudar, Hausser Jeanette, Vaday Doron, Gilboa Ella, Wang Liang, Hittelman Joan, Hoepner Lori, Fordjour Lawrence, Chitamanni Pavani, Saxena Anjana, Jiang Xinyin
Departments of Health and Nutrition Sciences, Brooklyn College of City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY 11210, USA; PhD Program in Biochemistry, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
Clin Nutr. 2024 Jun;43(6):1216-1223. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2024.04.011. Epub 2024 Apr 12.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Both maternal metabolic dysregulation, e.g., gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and maternal supply of nutrients that participate in one-carbon (1C) metabolism, e.g., folate, choline, betaine, and vitamin B, have been demonstrated to influence epigenetic modification such as DNA methylation, thereby exerting long-lasting impacts on growth and development of offspring. This study aimed to determine how maternal 1C nutrient intake was associated with DNA methylation and further, development of children, as well as whether maternal GDM status modified the association in a prospective cohort.
In this study, women with (n = 18) and without (n = 20) GDM were recruited at 25-33 weeks gestation. Detailed dietary intake data was collected by 3-day 24-h dietary recall and nutrient levels in maternal blood were also assessed at enrollment. The maternal-child dyads were invited to participate in a 2-year follow-up during which anthropometric measurement and the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development™ Screening Test (Third Edition) were conducted on children. The association between maternal 1C nutrients and children's developmental outcomes was analyzed with a generalized linear model controlling for maternal GDM status.
We found that children born to mothers with GDM had lower scores in the language domain of the Bayley test (p = 0.049). Higher maternal food folate and choline intakes were associated with better language scores in children (p = 0.01 and 0.025, respectively). Higher maternal food folate intakes were also associated with better cognitive scores in children (p = 0.002). Higher 1C nutrient intakes during pregnancy were associated with lower body weight of children at 2 years of age (p < 0.05). However, global DNA methylation of children's buccal cells was not associated with any maternal 1C nutrients.
In conclusion, higher 1C nutrient intake during pregnancy was associated with lower body weight and better neurodevelopmental outcomes of children. This may help overcome the lower language scores seen in GDM-affected children in this cohort. Studies in larger cohorts and with a longer follow-up duration are needed to further delineate the relationship between prenatal 1C nutrient exposure, especially in GDM-affected pregnancies, and offspring health outcomes.
母体代谢失调，如妊娠期糖尿病（GDM），以及参与一碳（1C）代谢的母体营养物质供应，如叶酸、胆碱、甜菜碱和维生素B，均已被证明会影响表观遗传修饰，如DNA甲基化，从而对后代的生长发育产生持久影响。本研究旨在确定母体1C营养素摄入量与DNA甲基化以及儿童发育之间的关联，以及母体GDM状态是否会在前瞻性队列中改变这种关联。
在本研究中，在妊娠25 - 33周时招募了患有（n = 18）和未患有（n = 20）GDM的女性。通过3天24小时饮食回顾收集详细的饮食摄入数据，并在入组时评估母体血液中的营养水平。母婴二元组被邀请参加为期2年的随访，在此期间对儿童进行人体测量和贝利婴幼儿发展量表™筛查测试（第三版）。使用控制母体GDM状态的广义线性模型分析母体1C营养素与儿童发育结局之间的关联。
我们发现，患有GDM的母亲所生的儿童在贝利测试的语言领域得分较低（p = 0.049）。母体食物中叶酸和胆碱摄入量较高与儿童更好的语言得分相关（分别为p = 0.01和0.025）。母体食物中叶酸摄入量较高也与儿童更好的认知得分相关（p = 0.002）。孕期较高的1C营养素摄入量与2岁儿童较低的体重相关（p < 0.05）。然而，儿童颊细胞的整体DNA甲基化与任何母体1C营养素均无关联。
总之，孕期较高的1C营养素摄入量与儿童较低的体重和更好的神经发育结局相关。这可能有助于克服该队列中受GDM影响儿童较低的语言得分。需要在更大的队列中进行研究，并进行更长时间的随访，以进一步阐明产前1C营养素暴露，特别是在受GDM影响的妊娠中，与后代健康结局之间的关系。
