Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring
Authors' conclusion
The results underscore the importance of preconception weight management and support public health strategies to reduce neurodevelopmental disorders in children of mothers with overweight or obesity.
Study context
- Population
- Live births in South Korea (January 1, 2014-December 31, 2021), Korean National Health Information Database merged with National Health Screening Program data; maternal body mass index (BMI) measured within 3 years before deliveryof 2,285,943 live births
- Participants
- 779,091 neonates
- Exposure
- Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI categories
- Outcome
- Neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring (epilepsy, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD) by ICD-10 codes
- Follow-up
- Up to five years of age
Methodological detailsnational cohort, multivariable Poisson and Cox regression, adjusted for neonatal and maternal covariates
- National cohort
- Multivariable Poisson and Cox regression
- Adjusted for neonatal and maternal covariates
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring
ObesityAdjusted hazard ratio (95% CI)
Epilepsy
1.13(1.08–1.18)
Intellectual disability
1.37(1.12–1.68)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring. Int J Obes (Lond). Published 15 November 2025. doi:10.
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