Patterns of Weight Change One Year after Delivery Are Associated with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors at Six Years Postpartum in Mexican Women

• Published in: Nutrients 2020-01, Vol.12 (1), p.170
• Main Authors: Soria-Contreras, Diana C, Trejo-Valdivia, Belem, Cantoral, Alejandra, Pizano-Zárate, María Luisa, Baccarelli, Andrea A, Just, Allan C, Colicino, Elena, Deierlein, Andrea L, Wright, Robert O, Oken, Emily, Téllez-Rojo, Martha María, López-Ridaura, Ruy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adiposity; Adult; Birth weight; Blood pressure; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Body weight gain; Cardiovascular Diseases; cardiovascular risk; Cholesterol; Epidemics; Fasting; Female; Gestational age; Glucose; Health risk assessment; Health risks; High density; High density lipoprotein; Humans; Insulin; Insulin resistance; Lipoproteins; Marital status; Metabolic Diseases; Metabolism; Mexico; Nurses; Obesity; Postpartum; Postpartum Period; postpartum weight change; postpartum weight gain; postpartum weight retention; Pregnancy; Principal components analysis; progress cohort; Residential density; Retention; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Secondary analysis; Time Factors; Triglycerides; Weight control; Weight Gain; Womens health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu12010170

Pregnancy is a contributor to the obesity epidemic in women, probably through postpartum weight retention (PPWR), weight gain (PPWG), or a combination of both (PPWR + WG). The contribution of these patterns of postpartum weight change to long-term maternal health remains understudied. In a secondary analysis of 361 women from the prospective cohort we evaluated the associations between patterns of weight change one year after delivery and cardiometabolic risk factors at six years postpartum. Using principal component analysis, we grouped cardiometabolic risk factors into: (1) body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), triglycerides (TG), and glucose; (2) systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP); and (3) low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol. Using path analysis, we studied direct (patterns of weight change-outcomes) and indirect associations through BMI at six years postpartum. Around 60% of women returned to their pregestational weight (reference) by one year postpartum, 6.6% experienced PPWR, 13.9% PPWG, and 19.9% PPWR + WG. Women with PPWR + WG, vs. the reference, had higher BMI and WC at six years (2.30 kg/m , 95% CI [1.67, 2.93]; 3.38 cm [1.14, 5.62]). This was also observed in women with PPWR (1.80 kg/m [0.80, 2.79]; 3.15 cm [-0.35, 6.65]) and PPWG (1.22 kg/m [0.53, 1.92]; 3.32 cm [0.85, 5.78]). PPWR + WG had a direct association with HOMA-IR (0.21 units [0.04, 0.39]). The three patterns of weight change, vs. the reference, had significant indirect associations with HOMA-IR, glucose, TG, HDL-c, SBP, and DBP through BMI at six years. In conclusion, women with PPWR + WG are at high-risk for obesity and insulin resistance. Interventions targeting women during pregnancy and the first year postpartum may have implications for their long-term risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease.