Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34521807›Full record

Observational studyNutrition & diabetes2021

Paternal weight prior to conception and infant birthweight: a prospective cohort study.

Ravi Retnakaran, Shi Wu Wen, Hongzhuan Tan, Shujin Zhou, Chang Ye, Minxue Shen, Graeme N Smith, Mark C Walker

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Nutrition & diabetes, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Maternal Birth Weight FromJournal of pregnancy · 2025
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Effect of Paternal Body Mass Index onThe world journal of men's health · 2024
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
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

8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Ravi RetnakaranLeadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada. ravi.retnakaran@sinaihealth.ca.ORCID 0000-0003-1989-027X
Shi Wu WenOMNI Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-7227-0283
Hongzhuan TanSchool of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Shujin ZhouLiuyang Municipal Hospital of Maternal and Child Health, Beizheng, Liuyang, China.
Chang YeLeadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Minxue ShenOMNI Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Graeme N SmithQueen's Perinatal Research Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Mark C WalkerOMNI Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Central South University · CNMount Sinai Hospital · CALiuyang City Maternal and Child Health Hospital · CNQueen's University · CAUniversity of Ottawa · CA

Funding

CIHR MOP 115183CIHR MOP 86562
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivePrevious studies have consistently demonstrated that maternal weight status both before and during pregnancy is associated with infant birthweight. However, a fundamental limitation across this literature remains that previous studies have not evaluated the concomitant impact of paternal weight at conception, owing to the paucity of studies in which fathers were assessed prior to pregnancy. Thus, we established a cohort of preconception couples to prospectively evaluate the associations of maternal and paternal weight prior to pregnancy with infant birthweight at delivery.

methodsIn this prospective observational cohort study, 1292 newly-married women and their partners in Liuyang, China, were assessed at median of 23.3 weeks before a singleton pregnancy, thereby enabling concomitant assessment of preconception maternal and paternal body mass index (BMI) in relation to infant birthweight.

resultsMean birthweight was 3294 ± 450 g with 147 neonates (11.4%) born large-for-gestational-age (LGA) and 94 (7.3%) small-for-gestational-age (SGA). After adjustment for maternal and paternal factors prior to conception (age, education, smoking, BMI, household income), length of gestation, total gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and infant sex, it was noted that infant birthweight increased by 42.2 g (95% CI 29.5-54.8; p < 0.0001) per unit increase in maternal pregravid BMI and 10.7 g (95% CI 0.5-20.9; p = 0.04) per unit increase in paternal pregravid BMI. Maternal pregravid BMI explained 6.2% of the variance in birthweight whereas paternal BMI explained only 0.7%. Independent predictors of LGA delivery were maternal pregravid BMI (aOR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.50-2.44), maternal age (aOR = 1.48, 95% CI 1.09-2.00), and gestational weight gain (aOR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.40-2.30). Paternal pregravid BMI was not independently associated with LGA or SGA.

conclusionPaternal BMI prior to conception is associated with infant birthweight but only modestly so, in contrast to the dominant impact of maternal weight.

Indexed as

Birth WeightBody WeightAdultBody Mass IndexChinaCohort StudiesDiabetes, GestationalFathersFemaleFetal MacrosomiaGestational AgeGestational Weight GainHumansInfant, NewbornInfant, Small for Gestational AgeMale

Identifiers

PMID34521807
PMCPMC8440552
OpenAlexW3201538664

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.