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Maternal stress and early childhood BMI among US children from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Maternal stress and early childhood BMI among US children from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program

Charles T Wood, Marie L Churchill, Monica McGrath, Judy Aschner, Steven M Brunwasser, Sarah Geiger, Semsa Gogcu, Tina V Hartert, Allison E Hipwell, Kathleen Lee-Sarwar, …
Pediatric research, v 94(6), pp 2085-2091
01 Dec 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02750-8
PMID: 37479746
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Birth Weight Body Mass Index Child Child, Preschool Humans Infant Outcome Assessment, Health Care Prospective Studies Risk Factors United States - epidemiology
We 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. We 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. The 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. Among 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. Although 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.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Pediatrics
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