Children born to overweight mothers are at greater risk of complications during childbirth and congenital malformations. Some minor cohort studies have shown a connection between the overweight of the mother and the risk of infection in the child.
In a cohort study led by Sven-Arne Silfverdal (one of our researchers in NorthPop) it was investigated whether overweight in the mother during pregnancy is associated with the incidence of hospitalizations for infectious diseases during the child’s first five years of life. The study included more than 693,000 children born between 1998 and 2006 in Sweden. It showed that obesity (BMI> 30) and obesity BMI (25-29.9) increase the risk of perinatal infections, as well as respiratory and urinary tract infections in the ages of 0-4 years.
Videholm S, et al. Arch Dis Child 2018;0:1–6. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2017-314628
