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Maternal Prepregnancy Weight Status and Adolescent Eating Disorder Behaviors: A Longitudinal Study of Risk Pathways

Micali, N; Daniel, RM; Ploubidis, GB; De Stavola, BL; (2018) Maternal Prepregnancy Weight Status and Adolescent Eating Disorder Behaviors: A Longitudinal Study of Risk Pathways. Epidemiology , 29 (4) pp. 579-589. 10.1097/EDE.0000000000000850. Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Maternal characteristics and childhood growth have been identified as risk factors for eating disorders. Most studies to date have been unable to investigate these factors prospectively while accounting for their interdependencies. We address this by investigating whether the association of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (ppBMI) with adolescent eating disorder behaviors can be explained by childhood growth and/or a concurrent environmental pathway captured by maternal eating habits. METHODS: We analyzed data from girls participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a prospective UK cohort. The study had information on parentally and self-reported eating disorder behaviors at age 13/14 years (n=3,529), maternal ppBMI and eating habits at age 8, child's birth weight, BMI from age 7 to 12, pubertal development at 11, and relevant confounders. We quantified contributions of childhood growth and concomitant maternal eating habits to the association of maternal ppBMI with eating disorder behaviors in terms of interventional disparity effects for multiple mediators. RESULTS: Maternal pre-pregnancy underweight was negatively associated with eating disorder behaviors (-0.18; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.29, -0.06) while overweight/obesity had the opposite relationship (0.25; 0.18, 0.32). Both were nearly fully explained by childhood growth. CONCLUSIONS: Although maternal ppBMI is associated with developing eating disorders, its role needs to be understood in the context of childhood factors, in particular childhood growth. The relatively small size of the remaining associations, once growth factors are hypothetically equalized across levels of maternal ppBMI, suggests that childhood growth is a potential area for prevention.

Type: Article
Title: Maternal Prepregnancy Weight Status and Adolescent Eating Disorder Behaviors: A Longitudinal Study of Risk Pathways
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000000850
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/EDE.0000000000000850
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: ALSPAC, eating disorders, risk, mediation, interventional effects, disparity effects, maternal weight
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10048830
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