Haliza Mat Husin1,2, Franziska Schleger1,3,4, Ilena Bauer1,3,4, Ellen Fehlert5, Isabelle Kiefer-Schmidt6, Magdalene Weiss6, Karl Oliver Kagan6, Sara Brucker6, Jan Pauluschke-Fröhlich6, Hari Eswaran7, Hans-Ulrich Häring3,4,5, Andreas Fritsche3,4,5, Hubert Preissl1,3,4,5,8,9. 1. fMEG Center, Helmholtz Center Munich, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. 2. Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience, International Max Planck Research School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. 3. Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Centre Munich (IDM) at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. 4. German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.), Tübingen, Germany. 5. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetology, Angiology, Nephrology and Clinical Chemistry, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. 6. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. 7. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. 8. Department of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Interfaculty Centre for Pharmacogenomics and Pharma Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. 9. Institute for Diabetes and Obesity, Helmholtz Diabetes Centre, Helmholtz Centre Munich, German Research Centre for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Prepregnancy obesity and extensive weight gain can lead to diseases in the offspring later in life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of anthropometric and metabolic factors on the fetal autonomic nervous system (ANS) in uncomplicated pregnancies. METHODS: A total of 184 pregnant women in the second or third trimester were included, and for 104 women, maternal insulin sensitivity (ISI) was determined. Fetal heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were determined by magnetic recording. Associations of maternal prepregnancy BMI, weight gain, and ISI with fetal HR and HRV were evaluated by ANCOVA, partial correlation, and mediation analysis. RESULTS: HR was increased and HRV decreased in fetuses of mothers with overweight or obesity in comparison to normal-weight mothers. Fetal HR was negatively correlated with maternal weight gain. Maternal prepregnancy BMI was positively correlated with fetal high frequency and was negatively correlated with low frequency and low/high frequency ratio. Maternal ISI showed a negative correlation with fetal HR. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the fetal ANS is sensitive to alterations of prepregnancy BMI, weight changes, and glucose metabolism. These findings highlight the importance of the intrauterine environment on the developing ANS and the possible programming of obesity.
OBJECTIVE: Prepregnancy obesity and extensive weight gain can lead to diseases in the offspring later in life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of anthropometric and metabolic factors on the fetal autonomic nervous system (ANS) in uncomplicated pregnancies. METHODS: A total of 184 pregnant women in the second or third trimester were included, and for 104 women, maternal insulin sensitivity (ISI) was determined. Fetal heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were determined by magnetic recording. Associations of maternal prepregnancy BMI, weight gain, and ISI with fetal HR and HRV were evaluated by ANCOVA, partial correlation, and mediation analysis. RESULTS: HR was increased and HRV decreased in fetuses of mothers with overweight or obesity in comparison to normal-weight mothers. Fetal HR was negatively correlated with maternal weight gain. Maternal prepregnancy BMI was positively correlated with fetal high frequency and was negatively correlated with low frequency and low/high frequency ratio. Maternal ISI showed a negative correlation with fetal HR. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the fetal ANS is sensitive to alterations of prepregnancy BMI, weight changes, and glucose metabolism. These findings highlight the importance of the intrauterine environment on the developing ANS and the possible programming of obesity.
Authors: Kathryn V Dalrymple; Florence A S Tydeman; Paul D Taylor; Angela C Flynn; Majella O'Keeffe; Annette L Briley; Paramala Santosh; Louise Hayes; Stephen C Robson; Scott M Nelson; Naveed Sattar; Melissa K Whitworth; Harriet L Mills; Claire Singh; Paul T Seed CStat; Sara L White; Deborah A Lawlor; Keith M Godfrey; Lucilla Poston Journal: Pediatr Obes Date: 2020-09-11 Impact factor: 4.000
Authors: Ilena Bauer; Julia Hartkopf; Stephanie Kullmann; Franziska Schleger; Manfred Hallschmid; Jan Pauluschke-Fröhlich; Andreas Fritsche; Hubert Preissl Journal: BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med Date: 2020-03-16