Maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with lower cortical thickness in the newborn brain

Authors: NA, XIAOXU - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); PHELAN, NATALIE - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); TADROS, MARINNA - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); WU, ZHENGWANG - University Of North Carolina; ANDRES, ALINE - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); Badger, Thomas; GLASIER, CHARLES - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); RAMAKRISHNAIAH, RAGHU - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); ROWELL, AMY - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); WANG, LI - University Of North Carolina; LI, GANG - University Of North Carolina; WILLIAMS, DAVID - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); OU, XIAWEI - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS)

Submitted to: American Journal of Neuroradiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/9/2021
Publication Date: 10/7/2021
Citation: Na, X., Phelan, N.E., Tadros, M.R., Wu, Z., Andres, A., Badger, T.M., Glasier, C.M., Ramakrishnaiah, R.R., Rowell, A.C., Wang, L., Li, G., Williams, D.K., Ou, X. 2021. Maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with lower cortical thickness in the newborn brain. American Journal of Neuroradiology. https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A7316.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A7316

Interpretive Summary: Mom being obese during pregnancy may be associated with changes in baby's brain development. In this study, we evaluated whether there is a relationship between mother's body weight status and newborn's brain cortical development. Cortex is an essential component of the brain that process neural signals. It starts developing during fetal period and continuously develops throughout childhood. We found that compared to newborns of normal weight pregnant women, newborns of obese pregnant women have lower cortical thickness in brain cortical regions important for language and executive functions (mental skills that include working memory, self-control, and decision making, etc.). The more obese the pregnant women, the lower cortical thickness in these brain regions in the newborns. Our results suggest that maternal obesity may delay cortical development in the fetal brain.

Technical Abstract: Recent studies have suggested that maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with differences in neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. In this study, we aimed at investigating relationships between maternal obesity during pregnancy and newborn brain cortical development. Forty-four healthy women (28 normal-weight, 16 obese) were prospectively recruited at <10 weeks gestation and their healthy full-term infants (23 boys, 21 girls) underwent brain MRI. All pregnant women had their body composition (fat mass percentage) measured at ~12 weeks of pregnancy. All infants were scanned at age ~2 weeks during natural sleep without sedation, and their 3D T1-weighted images were post-processed by the new iBEAT2.0 software. Brain MRI segmentation and cortical surface reconstruction and parcellation were completed using age-appropriate templates. Mean cortical thickness for 34 regions in each brain hemisphere defined by the UNC neonatal cortical surface atlas were measured, compared between groups, and correlated with maternal body fat mass percentage, with infant sex and race, postmenstrual age at MRI, maternal age at pregnancy as well as maternal IQ and education controlled for. Infants born to obese mothers showed significantly lower (P=0.05, FDR corrected) cortical thickness in left pars opercularis gyrus, left pars triangularis gyrus, and left rostral middle frontal gyrus. Mean cortical thickness in these frontal lobe regions negatively correlated (R=-0.34, P=0.04; R=-0.50, P=0.001; and R=-0.42, P=0.01; respectively) with maternal body fat mass percentage measured at early pregnancy. Maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with lower newborn brain cortical thickness in several frontal lobe regions important for language and executive functions.