EC Paediatrics

Review Article Volume 14 Issue 10 - 2025

Maternal Adiposity Impairs Offspring’s Lung Development through Th1/Th2 Imbalance, Leptin Signaling, and Oxidative Stress: A Narrative Review and Bioinformatics Analysis

Faiza Ahmed1*, Aarifa Nazmeen2, Mohammad Areeb Iqbal1, Sravya Gudapati3, Usman Akbar1, Gertrude Bassey4, Andre Thompson5, Kim Andrews6, Uzoamaka Nwokorie9, Shanthi Potla7, Sherlyne Magny8, Mohamad Mouchli10, Raffaella Panza11, Godsgift Enebong Nya12 and Sarfraz Ahmad13

1Division of Clinical and Translational Research, Larkin Community Hospital, South Miami, Florida, United States of America

2Department of Biotechnology, Cell and Molecular Therapeutics Lab, Oriental Institute of Science and Technology-Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, India

3College of Medicine, Washington University of Health and Science, San Pedro, Belize

4Department of Family Medicine, Bon Secours Medical Group, South Carolina, United States of America

5Department of Family Medicine, Mississauga Health Centre, Ontario, Canada

6Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahad University, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia

7Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America

8Department of Internal Medicine, Eastside Medical Center, Snellville, Georgia, United States of America

9Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Washington, United States of America

10Department of Gastroenterology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, United States of America

11Department of Biomedical Science and Human Oncology, Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Section, Policlinico Hospital, University of Bari - “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy

12Department of Pediatrics, John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America

13Director of Clinical Research at Gynecologic Oncology Department, AdventHealth Cancer Institute (AHCI), Florida, United States of America

*Corresponding Author: Faiza Ahmed, Division of Clinical and Translational Research, Larkin Community Hospital - Larkin Healthcare Systems, South Miami, Florida, United States of America.
Received: August 08, 2025; Published: September 12, 2025



Aim: To summarize and critically analyze the existing peer-reviewed evidence on the link between maternal body-mass index (BMI) or gestational weight gain (GWG) and lung health in the offspring.

Background: Maternal obesity could affect the lung maturation of the offspring resulting in asthma and wheezing in early childhood.

Objective: This study aims to find the relation between maternal obesity and neonatal lung disorders by finding the link between significant obesity-associated factors and lung disorders.

Materials and Methods: Electronic databased research was conducted. The online STRING (Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins) software was adopted to analyze the inter-dependence and network of different pathways associated with specific proteins.

Results: Twenty-three articles were included in our analysis. Evidence from prospective and observational studies implies a meaningful correlation between maternal obesity and long-term risk of asthma, early/late, and persistent wheezing. The risk continued after the studies were controlled for exposure to allergens, lifestyle, child growth trajectory, and lung health in early childhood. Two studies focusing on susceptibility to respiratory illness showed that children born to mothers with high BMI had a raised risk of respiratory tract infections. Increased adiposity is linked with greater levels of serum leptin, which has the potential to remodel airways and downregulate adiponectin, an adipokine with anti-inflammatory properties. Notably, T helper (Th-1, Th-2) cells, signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT-3), suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3), and oxidative stress could additionally play critical roles in maternal obesity and weaken fetal lung maturation.

Conclusion: GWG and maternal BMI can increase the chance of asthma, early, late, and chronic wheezing during the growth phase. Larger observational and in-depth studies are expected to further validate current findings.

 Keywords: Body-Mass Index (BMI); Gestational Weight Gain (GWG); Maternal Obesity; Maternal Adiposity; Lung Development; Th1/Th2 Imbalance; Leptin Signaling; Oxidative Stress

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Faiza Ahmed., et al. “Maternal Adiposity Impairs Offspring’s Lung Development through Th1/Th2 Imbalance, Leptin Signaling, and Oxidative Stress: A Narrative Review and Bioinformatics Analysis”. EC Paediatrics  14.10 (2025): 01-15.

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