Maternal Prepregnancy Obesity and Offspring Intelligence Quotient at 5 Years: A Multicohort Analysis

The relationship between maternal obesity and childhood cognitive development remains unclear. Prior studies did not adjust for important confounders, and preterm infants are a developmentally distinct group that remains scarcely examined. To determine whether maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) is associated with offspring intelligence quotient (IQ) up to 5 years and whether this relationship varies with gestational age. Data from two French birth cohorts, EDEN (all gestational ages) and EPIPAGE-2 (preterm children born between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation), were used for this study. Maternal prepregnancy weight and height were used to calculate prepregnancy BMI. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence was used to assess child IQ around 5 years. Multivariable models were adjusted for confounders, including socioeconomic status and paternal BMI. Analytical cohorts included 1100 children from EDEN and 2629 from EPIPAGE-2. Lower intellectual functioning (full-scale IQ