SynthesisInternational journal of obesity (2005)2020
Systematic review and meta-analysis on the relationship between prenatal stress and metabolic syndrome intermediate phenotypes.
Synthesis in International journal of obesity (2005), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Maternal Prenatal Stress and the Offspring Gut Microbiome: A Cross-Species Systematic Review.Developmental psychobiology · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Placental Pathophysiology and Developmental Programming of Adult Cardiometabolic Risk: A Narrative Review of Pregnancy Exposures.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2026Review
- The association between history of prenatal loss and maternal psychological state in a subsequent pregnancy: an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study.Psychological medicine · 2023Article
- Effect of night shift work on metabolic syndrome in adults who suffered from earthquake stress in early life.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- How can early life adversity still exert an effect decades later? A question of timing, tissues and mechanisms.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Early programming of reproductive health and fertility: novel neuroendocrine mechanisms and implications in reproductive medicine.Human reproduction update · 2022Review
- Resilience: Safety in the Aftermath of Traumatic Stressor Experiences.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2020Review
- Air Pollutant impacts on the brain and neuroendocrine system with implications for peripheral organs: a perspective.Inhalation toxicologyReview
- Transgenerational Effects of Traumatic Historical Events on the Incidence of Metabolic Syndrome/ Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in the Romanian Population.Journal of medicine and lifeArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMetabolic Syndrome (MetS) can be considered as a consequence of a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors and can be influenced by changes in the environment early in life. Prenatal stress (PS) exposure likely represents an important adverse intrauterine environment that may impact the biology of the developing organism. The aim of this study was to quantitatively synthesize the available data on the effects of PS on offspring's obesity, estimated indirectly by body mass index (BMI) and body fat; blood pressure, plasma glucose and blood lipid concentrations (triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol).
methodsLiterature searches for eligible studies on PubMed were conducted until October 8, 2018. Full text review yielded 24 publications for inclusion into the systematic review. Meta-analyses were performed for the outcomes BMI and body fat. 62 effect sizes from 19 studies together with relevant moderators were collected. Summary estimates were calculated by using random-effects model.
resultsThe combined standardized mean difference (d) for the relation between BMI and PS indicated that despite significant heterogeneity, stress exposure of expectant mothers was associated with increased BMI of their offspring [d (95% CI) = 0.268 (0.191; 0.345)]. Both objective and subjective stress have been linked to increased overweight. Preliminary results of the relationship between PS and body fat suggested that the contribution of PS to body fat should be at least further considered [d (95% CI) = 0.167 (0.016; 0.317)]. Evidence from a limited number of published studies do not sustains an effect on blood pressure, glucose metabolism or circulating lipids, however these outcomes have only been scarcely investigated.
conclusionsA direct association between PS and BMI was found and further studies are needed to confirm the relationship between maternal stress during gestation and body fat. Overall, findings suggest that PS could contribute to alterations to the post-natal offspring phenotype.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.