Sleep in Third-Trimester may Affect Child's Weight Gain in Adulthood

Adequate rest plays a critical role in our overall health. Particularly for pregnant women, sleep can even influence the health of their baby as he or she reaches adulthood. 

A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Chicago shows that poor sleep during the third trimester can increase the risk of metabolic abnormalities in offspring later in life.

Researchers pegged excess weight and metabolic changes to epigenetic modifications that can reduce the expression of the gene for adiponectin--a hormone that helps with glucose regulation.

"Disrupted sleep is a common problem during the final trimester of a pregnancy," said study director, sleep specialist David Gozal, MD, the Herbert T Abelson professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago, via a press release. "For some women, sleep fragmentation, especially sleep apnea, can be profound. We wanted to devise a system that enabled us to measure the potential impact of fragmented sleep on the fetus, which is uniquely susceptible so early in life."

For the experiment, researchers examined pregnant mice during days 15 through 19 of pregnancy, or what's equivalent to the third trimester. During the day when the mice would normally sleep, a motorized brush swept through their cages every two minutes, forcing them to wake up briefly. Other control groups were not disturbed, and only newborn male mice were examined as their hormone levels are typically less complex and easier to track.

Though newborns from both groups weighed the same in adulthood, changes were seen as time went on.

"For several weeks after weaning all the mice seemed fine," Gozal said, via the release. "But after 16 to 18 weeks - the mouse equivalent of early middle age - we noticed that the male mice born to moms with fragmented sleep were eating more. Their weights started creeping up."

Findings showed a 10 percent weight-gain increase in the sons of sleep-disturbed mothers at the 24-week mark.

Fragmented sleep patterns experienced by their mothers also increased the risk of other health problems, including type 2 diabetes. Lastly, they also carried disproportionately high amounts of "bad fat," or visceral white adipose tissue, along with elevated levels lipoproteins or "bad cholesterol."

"This is kind of scary," he concluded. "Will this generation, the sons of sleep-deprived mice, who are already at increased risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, transmit this inherited risk, perhaps compounded by new stresses, to their offspring?"

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Diabetes.