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Effects of maternal lifestyle interventions on child neurobehavioral development: Follow‐up of randomized controlled trials
Author(s) -
Menting Malou D.,
Beek Cornelieke,
Rono Kristiina,
Hoek Annemieke,
Groen Henk,
Painter Rebecca C.,
Girchenko Polina,
LahtiPulkkinen Marius,
Koivusalo Saila B.,
Räikkönen Katri,
Eriksson Johan G.,
Roseboom Tessa J.,
Hein Kati
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/sjop.12575
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , child behavior checklist , randomized controlled trial , checklist , psychology , pregnancy , intervention (counseling) , obesity , child development , logistic regression , medicine , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , surgery , biology , cognitive psychology , genetics
Obesity is a major public health problem. Children of women who were obese before or during pregnancy are at increased risk for neurobehavioral developmental problems. Whether a maternal lifestyle intervention conducted before and during pregnancy in obese women affects child neurobehavioral development is unknown. This study reports on the follow‐up of a subsample of two randomized controlled trials, the Finnish RADIEL ( n = 216) and Dutch LIFE style ( n = 305) trial. Women with a pre‐pregnancy BMI ≥29 kg/m 2 wishing to conceive or who were already pregnant (<20 weeks) were allocated to a lifestyle intervention or to care as usual. Child neurodevelopment was measured with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and child behavioral problems were measured with the Childhood Behavior Checklist ( RADIEL ) or the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ( LIFE style) at age 3‐6 years. We used linear and binary logistic regression analyses to assess the effects of the lifestyle interventions on children's neurobehavioral developmental scores. Follow‐up data was available from 161(38%) RADIEL and 96(32%) LIFE style children. Child neurodevelopmental scores did not differ significantly between children in the intervention and the control group ( RADIEL :median = 275 vs. 280; LIFE style:median = 270 vs 267). Child behavioral problem scores did not differ significantly between children in the intervention and the control group ( RADIEL :median = 22 vs. 21; LIFE style:median = 8 vs. 8). We did not observe considerable effects of the lifestyle interventions before or during pregnancy in obese women on child neurobehavioral development. With our sample sizes, we were not able to detect subtle differences in neurobehavioral development however.