Prevalence and Association of Congenital Anomalies According to the Maternal Body Mass Index: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective To evaluate and compare the prevalence of structural congenital anomalies (CAs) according to maternal body mass index (BMI). Methods The present cross-sectional study involved pregnant women with fetuses diagnosed with structural CAs through morphological ultrasonography between November 2014 and January 2016. The nutritional status of the pregnant women was classified according to the gross value of the body mass index. The pregnant women were categorized into four groups: low weight, adequate weight, overweight, and obesity. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata/SE version 12.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX), with values of p 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results A total of 223 pregnant women had fetuses diagnosed with CAs. The prevalence of structural CAs in pregnant women with low weight was of 20.18%, of 43.50% in pregnant women with adequate weight, of 22.87% in pregnant women with overweight, and of 13.45% in pregnant women with obesity. The prevalence of central nervous system (CNS) anomalies and of genitourinary system anomalies was high for the four groups of pregnant women. A positive association was observed between multiple anomalies in pregnant women with adequate weight (prevalence ratio [PR] ¼ 1.65; p 0.004) and between anomalies of the lymphatic system in obese pregnant women (PR ¼ 4.04, p 0.000). Conclusion The prevalence of CNS and genitourinary system anomalies was high in all of the BMI categories. Obese pregnancies were associated with lymphatic system anomalies. Therefore, screening and identification of the risk factors for CAs are important, regardless of the maternal BMI. Our findings reinforce the importance of discussing with pregnant women maternal nutrition and its effect on fetal development and on neonatal outcome.Carolina Leão de Moraes's ORCID is https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0755-0753.

Prevalence of Congenital Anomaly and Its Relationship with Maternal Education and Age According to Local Development in the Extreme South of Brazil

“…Although in medium and high development regions there is greater income diversity in households, which makes this indicator more disperse, very high development regions are characterized by having almost exclusively high-income families [20], which may explain the difference between the observed frequencies. We can assume that women from regions with very high development have greater gestational planning with better preconception and gestational conditions, such as better prenatal coverage, healthy lifestyle habits, greater access to quality food and in sufficient quantity, which reduces the risk of CA considered preventable [3][4][5]36].…”

Level of Knowledge of Women About the Risks Associated With Overweight During Pregnancy

“…Це насамперед пов′язано з недостатнім висвітленням у літературних джерелах -підвищений ризик передчасних пологів і вроджених аномалій зазвичай наголошується при ожирінні ІІ і ІІІ ступенів, хоча нещодавно проведені дослідження вказують на підвищені ризики як для надлишкової маси тіла, так і для ожиріння жінки [12,13] Враховуючи, що народження здорової дитини -пріоритетні цілі вагітності, поглиблення знань жінок про вплив оптимізації маси тіла на неонатальні проблеми, у тому числі на вроджені дефекти, можуть заохочувати майбутніх мам активно намагатися схуднути до вагітності життя. На сучасному етапі представлені дослідження, направлені на модифікацію способу життя, навчання харчової поведінки, аналізу фізичної активності, консультативні семінари та різноманітні їх комбінації, які мали позитивні та суперечливі результати [14][15][16].…”