Maternal Body Mass Index, Gestational Weight Gain, and Risk of Cancer in Offspring: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Mounting evidence suggests that maternal obesity and gestational weight gain (GWG) may increase the risk of cancer in their offspring; however, results are inconsistent. The purpose of this research is to determine the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and GWG and the risk of cancer in offspring through a systematic and comprehensive meta-analysis. Methods: A systematic literature search of several databases was conducted on 1 October 2022 to identify relevant studies. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The overall risk estimates were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis. Results: Twenty-two studies with more than 8 million participants were included. An increased risk of total cancer was found in offspring whose mothers had a high GWG (odds ratio [OR]: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.01-1.19; p: 0.040) but not in offspring whose mothers had a low GWG (OR: 1.06; 95% CI: 0.96-1.17; p: 0.030), when compared with offspring whose mothers had a suitable GWG. In addition, no statistically significant association was found between maternal underweight (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.97-1.13; p: 0.630), overweight/obesity (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0.99-1.16; p: 0.020), and risk of total cancer in offspring. Conclusions: Our study proposes evidence that maternal BMI and GWG may be associated with the risk of cancer in offspring, although statistical significance was found only for high GWG. Further well-designed research is required to clarify the potential relevance of maternal BMI and GWG on offspring cancer, especially for specific cancers.

Automated summary

This research conducted a systematic and comprehensive meta-analysis to determine the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) and the risk of cancer in offspring. The results suggest that high GWG may increase the risk of total cancer in offspring, while low GWG is not associated with the risk. There is no significant association between maternal underweight, overweight/obesity, and the risk of total cancer in offspring. Further research is needed to clarify the potential relevance of maternal BMI and GWG on offspring cancer, especially for specific cancers.