Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34039335›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2021

Association between mode of delivery and body mass index at 4-5 years in White British and Pakistani children: the Born in Bradford birth cohort.

Eleanor Ralphs, Lucy Pembrey, Jane West, Gillian Santorelli

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Risk Factors in the First 1000 Days of Life Associated With Childhood Obesity: A Systematic Review and Risk Factor Quality Assessment.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
    Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Eleanor RalphsLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, UK. eleanorr@sky.com.
Lucy PembreyLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, UK.
Jane WestBradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK.
Gillian SantorelliBradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · GBLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GB

Funding

British Heart Foundation CS/16/4/32482Medical Research Council MC_PC_21038Medical Research Council MR/N024391/1Wellcome Trust 083521/Z/07/AWellcome Trust 083521/Z/07/ZWellcome Trust 101597
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGlobally, it is becoming more common for pregnant women to deliver by caesarean section (CS). In 2020, 31% of births in England were CS, surpassing the recommended prevalence of CS. Concerns have been raised regarding potential unknown consequences of this mode of delivery. Childhood adiposity is also an increasing concern. Previous research provides inconsistent conclusions on the association between CS and childhood adiposity. More studies are needed to investigate the consequences of CS in different populations and ethnicities. Therefore, this study investigates the association between mode of delivery and BMI, in children of 4-5 years and if this differs between White British (WB) and Pakistani ethnicities, in Bradford UK.

methodsData were obtained from the Born in Bradford (BiB) cohort, which recruited pregnant women at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, between 2007 and 2010. For these analyses, a sub-sample (n = 6410) of the BiB cohort (n = 13,858) was used. Linear regression models determined the association between mode of delivery (vaginal or CS) and BMI z-scores at 4-5 years. Children were categorised as underweight/healthy weight, overweight and obese, and logistic regression models determined the odds of adiposity. Effect modification by ethnicity was also explored.

resultsMultivariable analysis found no evidence for a difference in BMI z-score between children of CS and vaginal delivery (0.005 kg/m

conclusionHaving CS, compared to a vaginal delivery, was not associated with greater adiposity in children of 4-5 years in this population. Concerns over CS increasing adiposity in children are not supported by the findings reported here using the BiB study population, of both WB and Pakistani families.

Indexed as

Cesarean SectionEthnicityBody Mass IndexChildEnglandFemaleHumansPakistanPregnancy

Identifiers

PMID34039335
PMCPMC8152119
OpenAlexW3115488459

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.