Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39663190›Full record

ArticleObesity (Silver Spring, Md.)2025

DNA methylation in cord blood partially mediates the effects of prepregnancy BMI on early childhood offspring BMI.

Alice Maguolo, Josefine Jönsson, Alexander Perfilyev, Marlena Maziarz, Allan Vaag, Emma Malchau Carlsen, Kirsten Nørgaard, Paul W Franks, Kristina M Renault, Charlotte Ling

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Alice MaguoloEpigenetics and Diabetes Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Scania University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8921-2012
Josefine JönssonEpigenetics and Diabetes Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Scania University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Alexander PerfilyevEpigenetics and Diabetes Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Scania University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Marlena MaziarzBioinformatics Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University Diabetes Center, Malmö, Sweden.
Allan VaagDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Scania University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Emma Malchau CarlsenDepartment of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Kirsten NørgaardCopenhagen University Hospital, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Herlev, Denmark.
Paul W FranksDepartment of Clinical Science, Lund University, Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden.
Kristina M RenaultDepartment of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Charlotte LingEpigenetics and Diabetes Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Scania University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0587-7154

Funding

Brødrene Hartmann FondenEuropean Foundation for the Study of DiabetesEuropean Research Council CoG-2015_681742_NASCENTEuropean Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme 101080465Fondo Gianesini EmmaHjärt-LungfondenHvidovre Hospitals ForskningsfondNovo Nordisk FoundationRegion SkåneStrategic Research Area ExodiabSwedish Diabetes Foundation Danish Council for Strategic ResearchSwedish Foundation for Strategic Research IRC15-0067Swedish Research CouncilSygekassernes Helsefond
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveWe investigated whether prepregnancy BMI (prePregBMI) in women with obesity was associated with differential DNA methylation (DNAm) in cord blood (CB) and whether DNAm may mediate the association of prePregBMI and early childhood BMI z score (BMIz).

methodsFrom the Treatment of Obese Pregnant Women (TOP) study, 232 mother-child pairs were included. We conducted an epigenome-wide association study on prePregBMI and CB DNAm (450k array), followed by causal mediation analyses to test whether DNAm may mediate effects of prePregBMI on  BMIz at age 36 months (BMIz36).

resultsDNAm at 5345 CpG sites annotated to 2842 genes, which were overrepresented in biological processes linked to carbohydrate metabolism and plasma lipoprotein particle clearance, was associated with prePregBMI (false discovery rate < 10%). Causal mediation analyses of 168 methylation sites associated with BMIz36 (p < 0.05) and overlapping with the 5345 prePregBMI-associated sites identified two sites on SYT7 and DEAF1, partially mediating the effect of prePregBMI on BMIz36 (p ≤ 0.01). After cross-validation, a methylation risk score including these two sites could predict the highest quartile of BMIz36 and fat mass (in grams) with area under the curve = 0.72 (95% CI: 0.58-0.85) and area under the curve = 0.71 (95% CI: 0.58-0.85), respectively.

conclusionsCB DNAm at birth may partially mediate effects of prePregBMI on early childhood BMIz36, supporting its plausible role in influencing individual future obesity risk.

Indexed as

Body Mass IndexDNA MethylationFetal BloodAdultChild, PreschoolCpG IslandsDNA-Binding ProteinsEpigenesis, GeneticFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMaleObesityPediatric ObesityPregnancyDNA-Binding Proteins

Identifiers

PMID39663190
PMCPMC11664306

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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.