A Longitudinal Study on Associations of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity With Plasma Monounsaturated Fatty Acids in Pregnant Women

Abstract

ObjectivesMaternal physical activity (PA) may influence pregnant women and offspring health via its impact on fatty acids metabolism. This study aimed to examine associations of PA with plasma phospholipid monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) during pregnancy. MethodsThe study included 321 pregnant women from the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies (N = 2802) with plasma phospholipid MUFAs and PA measured four times at 10–14, 15–26, 23–31, and 33–39 gestational weeks (GWs). Leisure time moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) was analyzed as both continuous (hour/week) and binary variables (i.e., high MVPA: ≥150 min/week vs. low MVPA: <150 min/week). Associations of MVPA with 7 individual plasma phospholipid MUFAs were assessed at each visit using multivariable linear regression models adjusting for age, race, education, marriage status, nulliparous, gestational diabetes, pre-pregnancy body mass index and Alternative Health Eating Index score. Weights were applied to reflect the entire cohort. Bonferroni-corrected P value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. ResultsMVPA (hour/week) was positively associated with plasma palmitoleic acid (β = 0.02, P < 0.001; N = 206) at 23–31 GW, and oleic acid (β = 0.08, P = 0.003; N = 308) at 15–26 GW. Meanwhile, compared to women with low level of MVPA, women with high level of MVPA had higher palmitoleic acid at 10–14 (β = 0.07, P = 0.001; N = 318) GW and 23–31 (β = 0.15, P < 0.001; N = 206) GW, and higher oleic acid (β = 0.40, P = 0.001; N = 308) at 15–26 GW. ConclusionsWe found positive associations of maternal MVPA with plasma palmitoleic acid and oleic acid at second trimester. Our findings are novel and worthy of further studies to confirm whether leisure time PA is a modifiable factor for MUFAs metabolism during pregnancy. Funding SourcesEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)/National Institutes of Health (NIH); internal funding from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).