Association of infant weight at one year of age with the mode of delivery: A case-control study in Primary Health Care Centers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the association between body mass index (BMI) centile at age one year with the mode of delivery and selected maternal and infant variables in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study where data were collected from the medical records of infants attending Primary Health Centers in 2019. Based on the World Health Organization 2006 growth standard, cases of overweight and obesity (n = 149) were defined as infants with BMI ≥85(th) centile, whereas controls (n = 434) were infants with a normal BMI between 3(rd) and <85(th) centile. Univariate analysis was performed first to compare the distribution of mode of delivery and other covariates between cases and controls. Adjusted odds ratios (adjOR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated by logistic regression. RESULTS: The adjOR for infant overweight and obesity at one year of age was 1.53 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.39, P = 0.047) for a cesarean mode of delivery as compared to vaginal delivery. The analysis also showed that the adjOR for infant overweight and obesity was 2.67 (95% CI: 1.22, 5.85, P = 0.014) for having no siblings and 2.20 (95%CI: 1.07, 4.51, P = 0.032) for ≤4 siblings. In contrast, infant overweight and obesity was associated with a lower odds of breastfeeding (adjOR = 0.60; 95%CI: 0.38, 0.92; P = 0.020) and mixed milk feeding (adjOR = 0.36; 95%CI: 0.20, 0.66; P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, infant overweight and obesity was associated with a greater likelihood of cesarean mode of delivery and having ≤4 siblings. The absence of breastfeeding was also associated with infant overweight and obesity.