Exploring the impact of early life factors on inequalities in risk of overweight in UK children: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Massion, S., Wickham, S., Pearce, A. , Barr, B., Law, C. and Taylor-Robinson, D. (2016) Exploring the impact of early life factors on inequalities in risk of overweight in UK children: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 101(8), pp. 724-730. (doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2015-309465) (PMID:27162002) (PMCID:PMC4975808)

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Abstract

Background: Overweight and obesity in childhood are socially patterned, with higher prevalence in more disadvantaged populations, but it is unclear to what extent early life factors attenuate the social inequalities found in childhood overweight/obesity. Methods: We estimated relative risks (RRs) for being overweight (combining with obesity) at age 11 in 11 764 children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) according to socio-economic circumstances (SEC). Early life risk factors were explored to assess if they attenuated associations between SECs and overweight. Results: 28.84% of children were overweight at 11 years. Children of mothers with no academic qualifications were more likely to be overweight (RR 1.72, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.01) compared to children of mothers with degrees and higher degrees. Controlling for prenatal, perinatal, and early life characteristics (particularly maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and maternal smoking during pregnancy) reduced the RR for overweight to 1.44, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.69 in the group with the lowest academic qualifications compared to the highest. Conclusions: We observed a clear social gradient in overweight 11-year-old children using a representative UK sample. Moreover, we identified specific early life risk factors, including maternal smoking during pregnancy and maternal pre-pregnancy overweight, that partially account for the social inequalities found in childhood overweight. Policies to support mothers to maintain a healthy weight, breastfeed and abstain from smoking during pregnancy are important to improve maternal and child health outcomes, and our study provides some evidence that they may also help to address the continuing rise in inequalities in childhood overweight.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:g SM was funded by the Brown University LINK Internship fund. AP is funded by a Medical Research Council Population Health Scientist Fellowship (MR/J012351/1). SW, BB and DT-R are supported by Wellcome Trust small grant (ref number: WT108538AIA).
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Pearce, Dr Anna
Authors: Massion, S., Wickham, S., Pearce, A., Barr, B., Law, C., and Taylor-Robinson, D.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
Journal Name:Archives of Disease in Childhood
Publisher:BMJ Publishing Group
ISSN:0003-9888
ISSN (Online):1468-2044
Published Online:09 May 2016
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2016 Massion, S. et al.
First Published:First published in Archives of Disease in Childhood 101(8):724-730
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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