Second-trimester and third-trimester maternal lipid profiles significantly correlated to LGA and macrosomia

According to the theory of fetal-derived adult diseases, abnormal fetal development might affect the occurrence of diseases in adulthood, and appropriate fetal growth status intrauterine might have a beneficial effect on it. To adapt properly for fetal development, there are numerous changes in the maternal physiology during pregnancy, including blood lipid metabolism. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between lipid profiles in the second and third trimesters of normal pregnancy and fetal birth weight.

The study population was derived from 5695 pregnant women, who maintained routine prenatal care at the women’s hospital of Zhejiang University, School of medicine January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. The pregnant women in this study all carried uncomplicated singleton pregnancies to at least 37 weeks.

The mean (standard deviation) birth weight was 3361.00 (385.94) g; 413 (7.3%) of the infants were large for gestational age, and 330 (5.8%) were macrosomia. On multiple linear regression analysis, positive determinants of birth weight were gravidity, parity, gestational age at delivery, male infant, maternal height, and weight before pregnancy, weight gain during pregnancy, fasting blood glucose (FBG) level, second-trimester cholesterol (TC) and third-trimester triglyceride (TG), gestational albumin (ALB), and third-trimester high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) levels were each negatively associated with birth weight. On logistic regression analysis, the significant metabolic lipid predictors of delivering a large-for-gestational-age infant were second- and third-trimester TG (aOR = 1.178, 95% CI 1.032–1.344, p = 0.015; aOR = 1.106, 95% CI 1.043–1.173, p = 0.001, respectively) and second- and third-trimester HDL-C level (aOR = 0.655, 95% CI 0.491–0.874, p = 0.004; aOR = 0.505, 95% CI 0.391–0.651, p < 0.001, respectively). Third-trimester TG and HDL-C were stable predictors of large-for-gestational-age infants in stratification analysis. High TG and low HDL-C level during third trimester could be considered as indicators of a high risk of large for gestational age (LGA) and macrosomia, regardless of infant gender.

These results suggest that future lifestyle programs in women of reproductive age with a focus on lowering TG levels (i.e., diet, weight reduction, and physical activity) may help to reduce the incidence of LGA and macrosomia.