Cesarean birth is not associated with early childhood body mass index
Date
2017
Authors
Smithers, L.
Mol, B.
Jamieson, L.
Lynch, J.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Pediatric Obesity, 2017; 12(Suppl. 1):120-124
Statement of Responsibility
L.G. Smithers, B.W. Mol, L. Jamieson and J.W. Lynch
Conference Name
Abstract
Cesarean birth leads to a markedly different microbiome compared to vaginal birth, and the microbiome has been implicated in childhood obesity. Among mothers who had a previous cesarean, we compared anthropometry of 3- to 6-year-old children who were subsequently born by cesarean section versus vaginal birth. This large population-based study involved linking de-identified administrative perinatal and anthropometric data. Children's weight and height were collected at community-based clinics and converted to age- and sex-adjusted z-scores of height-for-age (HFAz), weight-for-age (WFAz) and BMI-for-age (BMIz). The average treatment effect (ATE) of cesarean versus vaginal birth was calculated from augmented inverse probability weighted analyses accounting for a wide range of confounding variables. There was little evidence of an effect of cesarean birth on HFAz (ATE = 0.26 95%CI -0.35, 0.87, n = 3993), WFAz (ATE = 0.35, 95%CI -0.19, 0.89, n = 4817) or BMIz (ATE = 0.11, 95%CI -0.25, 0.46, n = 3909). Cesarean section was not associated with anthropometry among children aged 3-6 years.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Access Status
Rights
© 2016 World Obesity Federation