ReviewFrontiers in neuroscience2015
The role of maternal obesity in the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders.
Review in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 159 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
159 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 300 citations in OpenAlex.
- Maternal and child nutrition insecurity, microbiome, and early neurodevelopment: an intricate interplay. Results from a systematic review.European journal of public health · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prenatal, Birth, and Postnatal Factors Associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2024Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of pre-pregnancy maternal body mass index and placental DNA methylation identifies 27 CpG sites with implications for mother-child health.Communications biology · 2022Pooled it
- The role of prenatal and perinatal factors in eating disorders: a systematic review.Archives of women's mental health · 2021Pooled it
- Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and child neurodevelopmental outcomes: a meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2018Pooled it
- Exposure to Nitrogen Oxide in the First Trimester and Risk of Cardiovascular-Related Malformations: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.BioMed research international · 2018Pooled it
- Maternal BMI at the start of pregnancy and offspring epigenome-wide DNA methylation: findings from the pregnancy and childhood epigenetics (PACE) consortium.Human molecular genetics · 2017Pooled it
- Use of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors in the first trimester and risk of cardiovascular-related malformations: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.Scientific reports · 2017Pooled it
- Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and childhood physical and cognitive development of children: a systematic review.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2016Pooled it
- Endosomal system genetics and autism spectrum disorders: A literature review.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Child somatic growth and neurodevelopment: effects of pregnancy lifestyle intervention.Pediatric research · 2025Trial
- Effects of maternal lifestyle interventions on child neurobehavioral development: Follow-up of randomized controlled trials.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2019Trial
- The relationship between maternal adiposity during pregnancy and toddler ADHD symptoms is mediated by gestational inflammation.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- Experience-dependent development of vagal circuitry in rodents and humans.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026Review
- D-Fructose Exposure Impairs Neuronal Development in Mouse Neural Stem Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- The gut microbiome shapes social behaviour across animal species.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Associations of Maternal Pre-Pregnancy BMI With Frontostriatal Connectivity in Young Children.Pediatric obesity · 2026Article
- Probing the Influence of Paternal Diet on Offspring Neuroanatomy With Mouse MRI.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Article
- Transdiagnostic prevention in youth mental health, Part I: rationale, shared risk factors.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
99 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Recent evidence indicates that perinatal exposure to maternal obesity, metabolic disease, including diabetes and hypertension, and unhealthy maternal diet has a long-term impact on offspring behavior and physiology. During the past three decades, the prevalence of both obesity and neuropsychiatric disorders has rapidly increased. Epidemiologic studies provide evidence that maternal obesity and metabolic complications increase the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders (food addiction, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa), and impairments in cognition in offspring. Animal models of maternal high-fat diet (HFD) induced obesity also document persistent changes in offspring behavior and impairments in critical neural circuitry. Animals exposed to maternal obesity and HFD consumption display hyperactivity, impairments in social behavior, increased anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors, substance addiction, food addiction, and diminished cognition. During development, these offspring are exposed to elevated levels of nutrients (fatty acids, glucose), hormones (leptin, insulin), and inflammatory factors (C-reactive protein, interleukin, and tumor necrosis factor). Such factors appear to permanently change neuroendocrine regulation and brain development in offspring. In addition, inflammation of the offspring brain during gestation impairs the development of neural pathways critical in the regulation of behavior, such as serotoninergic, dopaminergic, and melanocortinergic systems. Dysregulation of these circuits increases the risk of mental health disorders. Given the high rates of obesity in most developed nations, it is critical that the mechanisms by which maternal obesity programs offspring behavior are thoroughly characterized. Such knowledge will be critical in the development of preventative strategies and therapeutic interventions.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.