Objective Although previous studies have examined the impact of maternal depression on child overweight and obesity, little is known about the relationship in Latino families, who suffer from high risks of depression and obesity. We prospectively investigated the association between depressive symptoms in women with young children and child overweight and obesity (overweight/obesity) at age 7 years among Latino families. Methods Participants included 332 singletons with anthropometric measures obtained at 7 years from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study, a birth cohort study. Maternal depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale when the children were 1, 3.5, and 7 years. Overweight and obesity was measured by body mass index (kg/m(2)) at age 7 years. Results 63 % of women had CES-D scores consistent with depression in at least one of the 3 given assessments. Compared to children whose mothers were never depressed, children whose mothers were depressed at all three assessments had 2.4 times the adjusted odds of overweight/obesity at age 7 years (95 % CI 1.1-5.6). However, a single positive maternal depression screen was not associated with child overweight/obesity and there was no difference in the odds of overweight/obesity by the age of the child when maternal depression occurred. Conclusion Chronic maternal depression during a child's early life was associated with child overweight/obesity at 7 years. Addressing maternal depression is a critical component of comprehensive obesity prevention and treatment strategies for Latino children.

Background

Previous studies have observed an adverse association between prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticide (OPs) and child cognition, but few studies consider the potential role of social stressors in modifying this relationship.

Objective

We seek to explore the potential role of early social adversities in modifying the relationship between OPs and child IQ in an agricultural Mexican American population.

Methods

Participants from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study, a prospective longitudinal pre-birth cohort study, include 329 singleton infants and their mothers followed from pregnancy through age 7. Dialkyl phosphate metabolite concentrations (DAPs), a biomarker of organophosphate pesticide exposure, were measured in maternal urine collected twice during pregnancy and averaged. Child cognitive ability was assessed at 7 years using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition. Demographic characteristics and adversity information were collected during interviews and home visits at numerous time points from pregnancy until age 7.

Results

Among low-income Latina mothers and their children in the Salinas Valley, total adversity and specific domains of adversity including poor learning environment and adverse parent-child relationships were negatively associated with child cognition. Adverse associations between DAP concentrations and IQ were stronger in children experiencing greater adversity; these associations varied by child sex. For example, the association between prenatal OP exposure and Full-Scale IQ is potentiated among boys who experienced high adversity in the learning environment (β=-13.3; p-value <0.01).

Conclusions

Greater total and domain-specific adversity modifies negative relationships between prenatal OP exposure and child IQ differently among male and female children. These findings emphasize the need to consider plausible interactive pathways between social adversities and environmental exposures.