Association of maternal diabetes/glycosuria and pre-pregnancy body mass index with offspring indicators of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

BACKGROUND: Little is known about early life determinants of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We examined associations of maternal pregnancy diabetes/glycosuria and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) with offspring markers of NAFLD and liver pathology and examined mediation by birthweight and concurrent offspring adiposity. METHODS: We used data from a UK prospective pregnancy cohort. Offspring underwent abdominal ultrasonography (USS) at mean age 17.8 years. Outcomes included USS-assessed fatty liver, estimated liver volume and shear velocity, a variant of elastography (a marker of liver fibrosis) (N = 1 215) and blood-based markers of liver pathology [alanine amino transferase, aspartate amino transferase, gamma- glutamyltransferase and haptoglobin] (N = 2 359). RESULTS: 2.1 % (N = 25) of participants had USS-assessed fatty liver [maternal diabetes/glycosuria (N = 7) and no diabetes/glycosuria (N = 18)]. Maternal diabetes/glycosuria was associated with greater odds of offspring USS fatty liver in confounder adjusted models [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 6.74 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 2.47, 18.40)] and higher shear velocity [adjusted ratio of geometric mean (aRGM):1.10 (95 % CI 1.05, 1.15)]. These associations were not mediated by offspring birthweight or concurrent adiposity. Maternal diabetes/glycosuria was not associated with liver volume or blood-based outcomes. Greater maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with greater odds of offspring USS fatty liver [aOR 2.72 (95 % CI: 1.20, 6.15)], higher liver volume [aRGM 1.03 (95 % CI 1.00, 1.07)] and shear velocity [aRGM1.03 (95 % CI: 1.01, 1.06)] in confounder adjusted models. These associations were largely mediated by offspring adiposity. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was not consistently associated with blood-based outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that maternal pregnancy diabetes/glycosuria is associated with offspring NAFLD through mechanisms other than offspring’s own adiposity. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-016-0585-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.