Maternal obesity and perinatal oxidative stress: The strength of the association

Maternal obesity is a chronic inflammatory state, which has been shown to induce increased levels of free fatty acids, reactive oxygen species and inflammatory cells. Recent evidence reveals increased levels of lipid peroxidation products in the plasma of obese women during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that maternal overweight or obesity is associated with increased oxidative stress (OS) in offspring. Two hundred and forty-five pregnant women and their newborns were prospectively enrolled. Mothers were divided in two groups: lean control - LC (n=175, Group I); overweight or obese (n=70, Group II) according to BMI ≥ 25 before pregnancy. Cord blood F2-isoprostanes (F2-IsoPs), as reliable markers of OS, were measured in all newborns. Lower 1 minute APGAR score and higher weight at discharge were found in Group II neonates, compared to those of Group I (p<0.05). Small for gestational age (SGA) newborns of both groups showed increased levels of F2-IsoPs than appropriate (AGA) or large (LGA) for gestational age (GA) (p<0.01). SGA newborns of Group II had higher F2-IsoPs levels compared to SGA of Group I (p<0.01), which were significantly correlated to maternal BMI at the end of pregnancy (r=0.451, p<0.01). Multivariate regression analysis corrected for confounding factors, showed that maternal overweight or obesity was significantly associated with high F2-IsoPs levels in SGA offspring (p<0.01). Maternal overweight or obesity is associated with increased OS in their SGA newborns. Data suggest the need of antioxidant protection for both mothers during pregnancy and infants soon after birth.