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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Nicola HeslehurstORCiD, Dr Louise HayesORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Obesity is a well-recognized risk factor for pregnancy complications. Most studies to date are in large cohorts, with results presented in a way that assumes all women living with obesity are at equal risk. This study investigates which women living with obesity are at higher risk of specific pregnancy complications. A systematic search of MEDLINE and Embase identified 7894 prospective or retrospective cohort studies exploring predictors of adverse outcomes among pregnant women living with obesity. Following screening, 61 studies were deemed eligible. Studies were selected if the effects of exposure to any predictor amongst pregnant women living with obesity could be collected. Maternal characteristics assessed for association with adverse outcomes included maternal age, race/ethnicity, maternal height, mode of conception, complement activation factors, and history of various comorbidities/procedures. Gestational diabetes mellitus was the most studied outcome (n = 32), followed by preterm birth (n = 29), preeclampsia (n = 27), low birthweight infants (n = 20), small for gestational age newborns (n = 12), and stillbirth (n = 7). This review identified important characteristics that should be considered during the screening and follow-up sessions of pregnant women living with obesity, including pre-existing type 1 diabetes, maternal age <20 years or ≥35 years, non-White ethnicity, abdominal adiposity obesity, and history of bariatric surgery.
Author(s): Fakhraei R, Denize K, Simon A, Sharif A, Zhu-Pawlowsky J, Dingwall-Harvey ALJ, Hutton B, Pratt M, Skidmore B, Ahmadzai N, Heslehurst N, Hayes L, Flynn AC, Velez MP, Smith G, Lanes A, Rybak N, Walker M, Gaudet L
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Year: 2022
Volume: 19
Issue: 4
Print publication date: 01/02/2022
Online publication date: 12/02/2022
Acceptance date: 03/02/2022
ISSN (print): 1661-7827
ISSN (electronic): 1660-4601
Publisher: MDPI
URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042063
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19042063
Notes: This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Obesity Prevention and Weight Management during Pregnancy
