(758) Increased Risk of Metabolic Syndrome Following Delivery of Abnormal Birthweight Babies

The history of delivering babies with abnormal birthweights has been reported to be associated not only with adverse perinatal outcomes but also with long-term metabolic complications of offspring. However, the potential impact of abnormal birthweight on maternal long-term health has not been well evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of delivering babies with abnormal birthweights on the long-term development of metabolic syndrome.

Study Design: This study was conducted using data from the UK Biobank, which is a large cohort that includes participants in age 40 to 69 years recruited between 2006 and 2010, with ongoing follow-up. Women with at least one livebirth were included in the analysis. The study population was divided into three groups according to the birthweight of their first baby: low birthweight, normal birthweight, and macrosomia. Metabolic syndrome was defined by the presence of 3 or more diagnostic components: abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high blood pressure, and hyperglycemia. The risk of metabolic syndrome and each component were evaluated for both low birthweight and macrosomia cases.

Results:

The analysis included 215,882 women, among whom 18,255 had delivered low birthweight babies, and 19,376 had delivered babies with macrosomia. At 40-60 years old, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 25.7% (55,517/215,882). Both delivering babies with low birthweight and macrosomia increased the risk of developing metabolic syndrome in middle-aged women.

Conclusion:

This study highlights that delivering abnormal birthweight babies increase the risk of long-term development of metabolic syndrome, with different effect on each metabolic component. These findings imply the importance of considering both ends of the birthweight spectrum as potential risk factors of adverse maternal health outcomes.