Prenatal Stress due to a Natural Disaster Predicts Adiposity in Childhood: The Iowa Flood Study
Prenatal stress can affect lifelong physical growth, including increased obesity risk. However, human studies remain limited. Natural disasters provide models of independent stressors unrelated to confounding maternal characteristics. We assessed degree of objective hardship and subjective distress...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Obesity |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/570541 |
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| author | Kelsey N. Dancause David P. Laplante Kimberly J. Hart Michael W. O’Hara Guillaume Elgbeili Alain Brunet Suzanne King |
| author_facet | Kelsey N. Dancause David P. Laplante Kimberly J. Hart Michael W. O’Hara Guillaume Elgbeili Alain Brunet Suzanne King |
| author_sort | Kelsey N. Dancause |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Prenatal stress can affect lifelong physical growth, including increased obesity risk. However, human studies remain limited. Natural disasters provide models of independent stressors unrelated to confounding maternal characteristics. We assessed degree of objective hardship and subjective distress in women pregnant during severe flooding. At ages 2.5 and 4 years we assessed body mass index (BMI), subscapular plus triceps skinfolds (SS + TR, an index of total adiposity), and SS : TR ratio (an index of central adiposity) in their children (n=106). Hierarchical regressions controlled first for several potential confounds. Controlling for these, flood exposure during early gestation predicted greater BMI increase from age 2.5 to 4, as well as total adiposity at 2.5. Greater maternal hardship and distress due to the floods, as well as other nonflood life events during pregnancy, independently predicted greater increase in total adiposity between 2.5 and 4 years. These results support the hypothesis that prenatal stress increases adiposity beginning in childhood and suggest that early gestation is a sensitive period. Results further highlight the additive effects of maternal objective and subjective stress, life events, and depression, emphasizing the importance of continued studies on multiple, detailed measures of maternal mental health and experience in pregnancy and child growth. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b781badb8039483e833140766490b7dd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-0708 2090-0716 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Obesity |
| spelling | doaj-art-b781badb8039483e833140766490b7dd2025-02-03T01:09:44ZengWileyJournal of Obesity2090-07082090-07162015-01-01201510.1155/2015/570541570541Prenatal Stress due to a Natural Disaster Predicts Adiposity in Childhood: The Iowa Flood StudyKelsey N. Dancause0David P. Laplante1Kimberly J. Hart2Michael W. O’Hara3Guillaume Elgbeili4Alain Brunet5Suzanne King6Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montreal, QC, H2X 1Y4, CanadaDouglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, CanadaUniversity of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USAUniversity of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USADouglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, CanadaDouglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, CanadaDouglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, CanadaPrenatal stress can affect lifelong physical growth, including increased obesity risk. However, human studies remain limited. Natural disasters provide models of independent stressors unrelated to confounding maternal characteristics. We assessed degree of objective hardship and subjective distress in women pregnant during severe flooding. At ages 2.5 and 4 years we assessed body mass index (BMI), subscapular plus triceps skinfolds (SS + TR, an index of total adiposity), and SS : TR ratio (an index of central adiposity) in their children (n=106). Hierarchical regressions controlled first for several potential confounds. Controlling for these, flood exposure during early gestation predicted greater BMI increase from age 2.5 to 4, as well as total adiposity at 2.5. Greater maternal hardship and distress due to the floods, as well as other nonflood life events during pregnancy, independently predicted greater increase in total adiposity between 2.5 and 4 years. These results support the hypothesis that prenatal stress increases adiposity beginning in childhood and suggest that early gestation is a sensitive period. Results further highlight the additive effects of maternal objective and subjective stress, life events, and depression, emphasizing the importance of continued studies on multiple, detailed measures of maternal mental health and experience in pregnancy and child growth.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/570541 |
| spellingShingle | Kelsey N. Dancause David P. Laplante Kimberly J. Hart Michael W. O’Hara Guillaume Elgbeili Alain Brunet Suzanne King Prenatal Stress due to a Natural Disaster Predicts Adiposity in Childhood: The Iowa Flood Study Journal of Obesity |
| title | Prenatal Stress due to a Natural Disaster Predicts Adiposity in Childhood: The Iowa Flood Study |
| title_full | Prenatal Stress due to a Natural Disaster Predicts Adiposity in Childhood: The Iowa Flood Study |
| title_fullStr | Prenatal Stress due to a Natural Disaster Predicts Adiposity in Childhood: The Iowa Flood Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prenatal Stress due to a Natural Disaster Predicts Adiposity in Childhood: The Iowa Flood Study |
| title_short | Prenatal Stress due to a Natural Disaster Predicts Adiposity in Childhood: The Iowa Flood Study |
| title_sort | prenatal stress due to a natural disaster predicts adiposity in childhood the iowa flood study |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/570541 |
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