| Summary: | Aim: The aim of this Ph.D. thesis is to enhance understanding of the relation between maternal diet, gestational weight gain (GWG), and offspring’s cardio-metabolic factors. Moreover, the objective is to identify dietary predictors for excessive GWG. Methods: This thesis comprises four research papers from two different prospective observational cohorts. Papers I-III were based on data from the observational Danish Fetal Origins Cohort (DaFO88), which was established in 1988-1989 in Aarhus (n=965), with a 20-year follow up. On the other hand, paper IV was based on recently collected data from an Icelandic pregnancy cohort, PREgnant Women of ICEland (PREWICE) (n=2113). Offspring of mothers in the DaFO88 cohort participated in a clinical examination at 20 years of age (n=434). The follow-up data included: anthropometry, blood pressure measurements, and cardiovascular biomarkers. Information regarding the maternal diet was collected in gestational week 30 with an FFQ combined with a dietary interview. Maternal markers of inflammation were also quantified in serum from week 30. Taking advantage of epidemiological findings can be difficult in clinical practice, partially because the dietary assessments used can be very detailed and time-consuming. However, the data from the Icelandic PREWICE study was collected using a short dietary screening questionnaire (40 items) to get a snapshot of the participant’s general diet (weeks 11-14 of gestation). Information on maternal weight measurements and birth outcomes was retrieved from maternal records. Data on covariates were obtained from questionnaires and maternal records. Associations were assessed using multivariable linear, Poisson log-linear and logistic regression models. Results: In the first phase of the project, the DaFO88 cohort was used to examine the relationship between maternal GWG and diet with offspring long-term outcomes. Paper I: In adjusted models, GWG was relatively strongly associated with offspring leptin and insulin levels 20 years later. Hence, a ...
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