Women who are overweight or obese in early pregnancy could increase their risk of having a child with epilepsy, a Swedish study claimed yesterday.
In the latest edition of JAMA Neurology, Dr Neda Razaz, of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, writes about her team’s research, which included more than 1.4 million live singleton births in Sweden to examine early pregnancy body-mass index (BMI) in women in their first trimester and the risk for childhood epilepsy.
Of the total cohort, who were born between born between 1997 and 2011, 7,592 youngsters (0.5%) were diagnosed with epilepsy up until 2012. The overall incidence of epilepsy in children, from 28 days to 16 years, was 6.79 per 10,000 child-years.
The researchers discovered that the risk of childhood epilepsy almost doubled from 6.30 per 10,000 child-years among women whose BMI was 25 or less to 12.4 per 10,000 child-years among women with grade III obesity, who have a BMI of 40 or more.
According to the results, the risk of epilepsy increased by 11% in children of whose mothers were overweight with a BMI of 25-30, compared to women who were a normal weight.
Women who had grade I obesity (BMI of 30-under 35) were associated with a 20% increased risk and those with grade II obesity (BMI 35 to under 40) had a 30% increased risk.
However, there was an 82% increased risk of having a child with epilepsy among women with grade III obesity, according to the study.
Dr Razaz and colleagues said possible reasons for the increased association include: maternal overweight and obesity increasing the risk of brain injury, which leads to a range of neurodevelopmental disorders; or that maternal obesity might affect neurodevelopment through obesity-induced inflammation.
The study also raised the possibility that asphyxia-related neonatal complications and less severe neonatal complications were also independently associated with increased risk of childhood epilepsy.
However, the research team says that the increased risk of childhood epilepsy associated with overweight or obese mothers could not be explained by obesity-related pregnancy or neonatal complications.
“Given that overweight and obesity are potentially modifiable risk factors, prevention of obesity in women of reproductive age may be an important public health strategy to reduce the incidence of epilepsy,” the study concludes.
Maternal Body Mass Index in Early Pregnancy and Risk of Epilepsy in Offspring. JAMA Neurol. 3 April 2017; doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.6130
Leave a Reply