Researchers Predict Childhood Obesity Using Umbilical Cord Blood

A recent study published in eBioMedicine, a Lancet journal, revealed that DNA methylation (DNAm) in umbilical cord blood could predict a child’s growth trajectories up to 18 years. Providers may be able to use this data to determine pediatric obesity risk and incorporate early disease management strategies.

The researchers used data from 831 mother–newborn pairs who gave birth at the Boston Medical Center. The data set excluded any patients with multiple births. Other exclusions included patients fertilized in vitro, fetal chromosomal abnormalities, major birth defects, and preterm births due to maternal trauma.

The resulting patient population included an urban, low-income, multi-ethnic participant pool. Patients were approached to join the study within three days of live delivery. Upon agreeing, research assistants collected information on maternal socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, medical history, diet, reproductive history, and additional clinical information.

Nursing staff collected cord blood samples and sent them to the University of Minnesota Genomics Center for genome-wide DNAm profiling using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip.

The researchers found four patterns of body-mass-index percentile trajectories (BMIPCT): normal weight, early overweight or obesity, late overweight or obesity, and normal to very late overweight obesity.

“DNAm at CpG18582997 annotated to TPGS1, CpG15241084 of TLR7, and cg24350936 of RAB31 were associated with BMIPCT at birth-to-3 y, 10 y, and 14 y, respectively (LRT FDR < 0.05 for all),” stated researchers in the study.

Understanding a patient’s risk of pediatric obesity can help providers make informed decisions on treatment protocols. Early interventions and preventative measures to minimize the impacts of obesity can help reduce comorbidities and improve patient outcomes.

“In this prospective birth cohort study, we identified four distinct and robust patterns of growth trajectories from birth to 18, which were associated with variations in cord blood DNAm at genes implicated in inflammation induction pathways. These findings, if further replicated, raise the possibility that these DNAm markers along with early assessment of BMIPCT trajectories may help identify young children high risk for obesity later in life,” concluded researchers in the publication.