• Born in Bradford is a longitudinal cohort of a multi-ethnic maternal population recruited between 2007 and 2010, who have been followed up over the years to study the effects of environmental, genetic, and other factors on maternal and child health. This study aims to investigate the relationship between maternal BMI and infections in their children later in life.

• Over 9,500 singleton births were followed up from birth to over 15 years of age. Multilevel regression models with clustering at the level of mother and child were used. When hospital admissions over time were observed, an interaction between maternal BMI and age at analysis was included.

• The study found that:

  • Over 56% of the mothers belonged to overweight or obese categories.

  • There was a significant association between women with high BMI (obesity grades 2–3) and increased hospital admission rates for infection, with the association increasing with age:

    • Adjusted OR 1.41 (1.13, 1.77) for infants

    • Adjusted OR 1.53 (1.19, 1.98) for age 5–15 years

  • Infections were categorized into lower and upper respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, multisystem viral infections, among others. There was a significantly higher incidence of these four infection categories among children of mothers with BMI in obesity grades 2–3.

  • Adjustment for socioeconomic status, ethnic group, parity, mode of birth, and smoking during pregnancy was done. However, factors predisposing to infections also need to be considered as potential confounders.

• The potential of obesity during pregnancy to increase the risk of immune dysregulation and microbiome alterations, subsequently influencing the long-term health of the developing fetus, needs to be explored further.

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