Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT1186

Background: Childhood overweight and obesity are global public health threats, with several comorbidities and adverse health outcomes. As childhood overweight and obesity are likely to track into adulthood, there is a need to understand how body composition evolves from infancy to childhood and which early life determinants influence adiposity programming. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate how body composition tracks from infancy to childhood and to identify which perinatal, infancy, childhood and nutritional factors are associated with different body composition trajectories.

Methods: We included 346 healthy term-born children of the Sophia Pluto study, a birth cohort study in The Netherlands. Body composition was measured at 1, 3 and 6 months by air displacement plethysmography (PEA POD) and at 5 years by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA). Age- and sex-adjusted Standard Deviation Scores (SDS) were calculated for Fat Mass Index (FMI) and Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI). For both variables, group tertiles were determined with the categories “ high”, “moderate” and “low”. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated using logistic regression models.

Results: At age 5 years, 4. 6% of children had overweight or obesity based on the WHO criteria. Children in the highest FMI SDS tertile at 5 years had a median FMI SDS of 1. 06 (interquartile range [0. 69;1. 51]). A high FMI SDS tracked from age 1, 3 and 6 months to 5 years (Or = 1. 67 [P = 0. 036], Or = 2. 55 [p < 0. 001] and Or = 3. 29 [p < 0. 001], respectively). High FFMI SDS also tracked from age 1, 3 and 6 months to 5 years (Or = 2. 36 [p < 0. 001], Or = 2. 20 [P = 0. 001] and Or = 2. 45 [p < 0. 001], respectively). Association analyses of perinatal, infancy, childhood and nutritional factors with body composition trajectories will be presented at the congress.

Conclusions: Infants with a high FMI or FFMI SDS in the first 6 months of life are likely to remain in the highest tertile up to age 5 years. These data further support the presence of a critical window of adiposity and FFM programming in early infancy.