UCLA

INTRODUCTION: Maternal body composition may influence fetal/neonatal body composition.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between maternal and fetal body composition. METHODS: Three cohorts of women were studied: healthy mothers, mothers with gestational diabetes (GDM), and otherwise healthy mothers with a growth-restricted fetus (FGR). MRI measured quantitative traits of maternal body composition (visceral adipose tissue volume (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue volume (SAT), pancreatic and hepatic proton-density fat fraction (PDFF)) and fetal body composition (abdominal SAT and hepatic PDFF). RESULTS: GDM fetuses had greater SAT volume than FGR fetuses and greater hepatic PDFF than FGR (280 [261, 295] vs. 220 [205, 235] mm3) and healthy fetuses (GDM 5.2 [4.2, 5.5]%, FGR 1.9 [1.4, 3.7]%, healthy 3.2 [3, 3.3]%). Fetal hepatic PDFF was associated with maternal SAT (r=0.47, p=0.02), VAT (r=0.62, p=0.002), and pancreatic PDFF (r=0.54, p=0.008). Fetal SAT was associated with infant birth weight z-scores (r=0.48, p=0.02). CONCLUSION: In this study, maternal adiposity and GDM status were associated with fetal hepatic fat.