Maternal pre-pregnancy weight and twins' temperament. (20th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tore, Elena C.; Antoniou, Evangelia E.; Reed, Keith; Southwood, Taunton R.; Smits, Luc; McCleery, Joseph P.; Zeegers, Maurice P.
• Is Part Of: Journal of developmental origins of health and disease. Volume 10:Number 5(2019)
• Page Start: 522
• Page End: 528
• Publication Date: 2019-05-20
• Subjects: twins, -- pre-pregnancy weight, -- infant temperament, -- intrauterine environment; Developmental biology -- Periodicals; Embryology, Human -- Periodicals; Disease susceptibility -- Periodicals; Prenatal influences -- Periodicals; Diseases -- Causes and theories of causation -- Periodicals; 612.64
• DOI: 10.1017/S2040174418001101
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2040-1744

Abstract

Abstract: Maternal pre-pregnancy weight has been related with young singletons' cognitive and behavioral development, but it is not clear if it has an effect on temperament. We used a twin cohort to evaluate the association between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and infants' temperament. The mothers of 834 twins answered questions regarding their pre-pregnancy BMI and their 0- to 18-month-old children's temperament using the Revised Infant Behavior Questionnaire. Three temperamental dimensions were examined: activity level, distress to limitation and duration of orienting. The relationship between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and each temperamental component was investigated by means of multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analysis. We found no clear evidence of an association of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI with twins' temperament. The development of temperament is influenced by a large number of factors, probably different from those influencing children's emotional and behavioral development.