1. Maternal stress and early childhood BMI among US children from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program
- Author
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Alshawabkeh, AN, Teitelbaum, SL, Stroustrup, A, Deoni, S, Gern, J, Bacharier, L, O’Connor, G, Kattan, M, Wood, R, Rivera-Spoljaric, K, Weiss, S, Permanente, Kaiser, Zeiger, R, Schmidt, R, Simhan, H, Schantz, S, Woodruff, T, and Bosquet-Enlow, M
- Subjects
Paediatrics ,Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Behavioral and Social Science ,Pediatric ,Basic Behavioral and Social Science ,Clinical Research ,Aetiology ,2.2 Factors relating to the physical environment ,2.3 Psychological ,social and economic factors ,Generic health relevance ,Good Health and Well Being ,Infant ,Humans ,Child ,Child ,Preschool ,United States ,Body Mass Index ,Prospective Studies ,Risk Factors ,Birth Weight ,Outcome Assessment ,Health Care ,program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes ,Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine ,Public Health and Health Services ,Pediatrics - Abstract
BackgroundWe aimed to understand the association between maternal stress in the first year of life and childhood body mass index (BMI) from 2 to 4 years of age in a large, prospective United States-based consortium of cohorts.MethodsWe used data from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program. The main exposure was maternal stress in the first year of life measured with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The main outcome was the first childhood BMI percentile after age 2 until age 4 years. We used an adjusted linear mixed effects model to examine associations between BMI and PSS quartile.ResultsThe mean BMI percentile in children was 59.8 (SD 30) measured at 3.0 years (SD 1) on average. In both crude models and models adjusted for maternal BMI, age, race, ethnicity, infant birthweight, and health insurance status, no linear associations were observed between maternal stress and child BMI.ConclusionsAmong 1694 maternal-infant dyads, we found no statistically significant relationships between maternal perceived stress in the first year of life and child BMI after 2 through 4 years.ImpactAlthough existing literature suggests relationships between parental stress and childhood BMI, we found no linear associations between maternal stress in the first year of life and childhood BMI at 2-4 years of age among participants in ECHO cohorts. Higher maternal stress was significantly associated with Hispanic ethnicity, Black race, and public health insurance. Our analysis of a large, nationally representative sample challenges assumptions that maternal stress in the first year of life, as measured by a widely used scale, is associated with offspring BMI.
- Published
- 2023