BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

• Ahlqvist et al. (PLoS Medicine, 2019) investigated the possible association between cesarean section and risk of obesity in young adulthood

METHODS:

• Retrospective cohort study
• Participants
  • Swedish males born between 1982 and 1987
• Data sources
  • Swedish population registers
  • Medical Birth Register
• Study design
  • Participants were followed from birth until conscription (median 18 years of age) if they conscripted before 2006
  • At conscription: Weight and height were measured and transformed to WHO categories based on BMI
• Data analysis
  • Associations were evaluated using linear regression
  • Adjustments made for potential confounders, including
    • Prepregnancy maternal BMI | Maternal diabetes at delivery | Maternal hypertension at delivery | Maternal smoking | Parity | Parental education | Maternal age at delivery | Gestational age | Birth weight standardized according to gestational age | Preeclampsia

RESULTS:

• 97,291 men were included
  • Average maternal age at delivery: 28.5 years
  • Average prepregnancy BMI: 21.9
  • 41.5% of the conscripts had at least one parent with university-level education
• Obesity (BMI ≥ 30) of conscripts: 4.9%
• Slight difference in prevalence of obesity based on mode of delivery
  • Vaginal delivery: 4.9%
  • Elective cesarean: 5.5%
  • Nonelective cesarean: 5.6%
• After accounting for potential confounders, when compared with vaginal delivery, there was no evidence of an association between nonelective or elective CS and young adulthood obesity
  • Nonelective cesarean (p = 0.532)
    • Relative risk ratio 0.96 (95% CI, 0.83 to 1.10)
  • Elective cesarean (p = 0.826)
    • Relative risk ratio 1.02 (95% CI, 0.88 to 1.18)
• Likewise, compared with vaginal delivery, there was no evidence for an association between any form of CS and overweight (BMI ≥ 25)

CONCLUSION:

• This study did not find evidence of a link between overweight or obesity based on mode of delivery in young adulthood
• The authors point out that one limitation of their study was that the cohort only included a male population

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Learn More – Primary Sources:

Elective and nonelective cesarean section and obesity among young adult male offspring: A Swedish population–based cohort study

Related ObG Topics:

Is Cesarean Section Associated with Increased BMI in Offspring?

Does Gestational Hypertension Increase Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Adult Offspring?

Maternal Overweight, Obesity and Congenital Malformations – How Strong is the Link?