Maternal Body Mass Index, Gestational Weight Gain, and Risk of Cancer in Offspring: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Mounting evidence suggests that maternal obesity and gestational weight gain (GWG) may increase the risk of cancer in their offspring; however, results are inconsistent. The purpose of this research is to determine the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and GWG and the risk of cancer in offspring through a systematic and comprehensive meta-analysis. Methods: A systematic literature search of several databases was conducted on 1 October 2022 to identify relevant studies. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. The overall risk estimates were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis. Results: Twenty-two studies with more than 8 million participants were included. An increased risk of total cancer was found in offspring whose mothers had a high GWG (odds ratio [OR]: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.01–1.19; p: 0.040) but not in offspring whose mothers had a low GWG (OR: 1.06; 95% CI: 0.96–1.17; p: 0.030), when compared with offspring whose mothers had a suitable GWG. In addition, no statistically significant association was found between maternal underweight (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.97–1.13; p: 0.630), overweight/obesity (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0.99–1.16; p: 0.020), and risk of total cancer in offspring. Conclusions: Our study proposes evidence that maternal BMI and GWG may be associated with the risk of cancer in offspring, although statistical significance was found only for high GWG. Further well-designed research is required to clarify the potential relevance of maternal BMI and GWG on offspring cancer, especially for specific cancers.