Systematic review and meta-analysis on the relationship between prenatal stress and metabolic syndrome intermediate phenotypes

ADRIANA LAURA BURGEÑO; YAMILA JUAREZ; ANA MARÍA GENARO; MARIANA TELLECHEA

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBESITY

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2019 vol. 44 p. 1 - 12

0307-0565

Background Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) can be considered as a consequence of a complex interplay between genetic andenvironmental factors and can be influenced by changes in the environment early in life. Prenatal stress (PS) exposure likelyrepresents an importan t adverse intrauterine environment that may impact the biology of the developing organism. The aimof this study was to quantitatively synthesize the available data on the effects of PS on offspring?s obesity, estimatedindirectl y by body mass index (BMI) and b ody fat; blood pressure, plasma glucose and blood lipid concentrations (tri-glycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol).Methods Literature searches for eligible studies on PubMed were conducted until October 8, 2018. Full text review yielded24 publications for inclusion into the systematic review. Meta-analyses were performed for the outcomes BMI and body fat.62 effect sizes from 19 studies together with relevant moderators were collected. Summary estimates were calculated byusing random-effects model.Results The combined standardized mean difference (d) for the relation between BMI and PS indicated that despite sig-nificant heterogeneity, stress exposure of expectant mothers was associated with increased BMI of their offspring [d (95% CI)= 0.268 (0.191; 0.345)]. Both objective and subjective stress have been linked to increased overweight. Preliminary results ofthe relationship between PS and body fat suggested that the contribution of PS to body fat should be at least further considered[d (95% CI) = 0.167 (0.016; 0.317)]. Evidence from a limited number of published studies do not sustains an effect on bloodpressure, glucose metabolism or circulating lipids, however these outcomes have only been scarcely investigated.Conclusions A direct association between PS and BMI was found and further studies are needed to confirm the relat ionshipbetween maternal stress during gestation and body fat. Overall, findings suggest that PS could contribute to alterations to thepost-natal offspring phenotype.