TY - GEN A1 - Scholaske, Laura A1 - Adam, Emma K. A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Entringer, Sonja T1 - Maternal BMI and inflammation during pregnancy: a bi- or unidirectional association? T2 - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity N2 - Methods: 140 pregnant women participated in a multi-site prospective cohort study in, Germany with two study visits during pregnancy (T1: 24.44 ± 2.34, T2: 32.92 ± 1.72 weeks of gestation). Maternal BMI was derived from body length and current weight and was residualized for gestational week at assessment. Pro-inflammatory markers CRP and IL-6 were analyzed from venous blood samples and combined into a repeatedly measured composite inflammation score. Results: In a path model, T1-BMI significantly predicted T2-inflammation (b=0.53, SE=0.02, p <.001), and T1-inflammation predicted T2-BMI (b=0.46, SE=0.42, p <.001), suggesting a bidirectional relationship between BMI and inflammation. However, further adjustment for pre-pregnancy BMI diminished the association between T1-inflammation and T2-BMI (b=0.004, SE=0.22, p =.922), whereas the relationship between T1-BMI and T2-inflammation remained significant (b=0.20, SE=0.01, p =.004). Thus, adjusting for pre-pregnancy BMI underlined a unidirectional relationship. Conclusions: Based on these results, reducing overweight may be a relevant target for interventions to reduce inflammation and the risk of subsequent adverse outcomes. KW - BMI KW - inflammation KW - pregnancy Y1 - 2023 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-UBICO/frontdoor/index/index/docId/30161 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159122002239?via%3Dihub VL - 106 SP - 12 PB - Elsevier ER -