The association between gestational weight trajectories in women with gestational diabetes and their offspring's weight from birth to 40 months

Aims To identify the gestational weight gain (GWG) patterns in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and evaluate their association with offspring weight status from birth to 40 months. Materials and methods This study included 2,723 GDM-mother–child pairs from the Beijing Birth Cohort Study. The association between GWG trajectories identified by the latent class model and offspring weight outcomes from birth to 40 months were evaluated, after adjustment for maternal age, parity, pre-pregnancy body mass index, maternal height, and blood glucose levels. Results Three GWG rate groups, including the non-excessive GWG group (1,994/2,732), excessive GWG group (598 /2,732), and excessive early GWG group (140/2,732), were identified in women with GDM, respectively. Compared to the non-excessive GWG group, the adjusted OR (aOR) and 95% CI were 1.83 (1.35–2.47) and 1.79 (1.06–3.01) for macrosomia, 1.33 (1.07–1.66) and 1.48 (1.01–2.17) for large for gestational age (LGA) in the excessive GWG group and excessive early GWG group. Excessive GWG was also associated with an increased risk of BMI-for-age at 40 months (aOR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.14–2.42). Conclusions Both excessive GWG and excessive early GWG increased the risk of macrosomia and LGA in women with GDM, but only the excessive GWG was associated with childhood overweight/obesity. The results suggest the long-term impact of GWG on offspring weight status in women with GDM and the potential benefits of GWG restriction after GDM diagnosis.