Adriëtte Oostvogels

102 Chapter 4 To our knowledge the influence of maternal early pregnancy lipid profile on offspring’s lipid profile and glycaemic control has not been extensively investigated in humans. Therefore, the present study examines the association between maternal lipid levels in early pregnancy and offspring’s lipid profile and glycaemic control at age 5-6 years and whether these associations differ by offspring’s sex. Furthermore, this study examines whether a possible association between maternal and offspring’s lipids and glycaemic control is directly programmed, or whether maternal lipids program offspring’s lipids and glycaemic control indirectly through offspring’s fat percentage. This explorative study uses data from a large prospective cohort with multiple maternal and offspring’s lipids. Figure 1. Schematic representation of the potential pathways/associations. ApoA1= apolipoprotein A1; ApoB= apolipoprotein B; FFA= free fatty acids; HDL= high density lipoprotein; HOMA2-IR= insulin resistance index; LDL= low density lipoprotein; TC= total cholesterol; TG= triglycerides