Fruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy and developmental delays in offspring aged 2 years in Japan.

Yudai Yonezawa,Tomomi Onuma,Taku Obara,Shigenori Suzuki,Shinichi Kuriyama,Junichi Sugawara,Fumihiko Ueno,Aoi Noda,Keiko Murakami,Takahiro Yamashita,Mami Ishikuro,Hiroyuki Suganuma

doi:10.1017/s0007114521002154

Abstract

The association between fruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy and offspring's physical growth has been well reported, but no study has focused on offspring's neurological development. We aimed to explore the association between maternal fruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy and developmental delays in their offspring aged 2 years. Between July 2013 and March 2017, 23406 women were recruited for the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study. Fruit and vegetable consumption was calculated using FFQ, and offspring's developmental delays were evaluated by the Ages & Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-3) for infants aged 2 years. Finally, 10420 women and 10543 infants were included in the analysis. Totally, 14·9 % of children had developmental delay when screened using the ASQ-3. Women in the highest quartile of vegetable consumption from pre-pregnancy to early pregnancy and from early to mid-pregnancy had lower odds of offspring's developmental delays (OR 0·74; 95 % CI 0·63, 0·89 and OR 0·70; 95 % CI 0·59, 0·84, respectively) than women in the lowest quartile. Women in the highest quartile of fruit consumption from early to mid-pregnancy had lower odds of offspring's developmental delays (OR 0·78; 95 % CI 0·66, 0·92) than women in the lowest quartile. In conclusion, high fruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of developmental delays in offspring aged 2 years.

Highlights

Developmental delays in early life including speech and language development, motor development, social-emotional development and cognitive development[1] can affect individuals throughout their life
This study investigated the association between fruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy and development of offspring aged 2 years
The results showed that high fruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of developmental delays in offspring, aged 2 years

Summary

Introduction

Developmental delays in early life including speech and language development, motor development, social-emotional development and cognitive development[1] can affect individuals throughout their life. Infants with developmental delays have a higher risk of learning disabilities, behaviour problems and difficulty building friendships later in life[3]. They are at higher risk of educational attainment and well-being compared with children without such disabilities[4] and require lifelong treatment and medical care, resulting in a greater social and economic burden. Identifying the association between dietary habits before and during pregnancy, which is one of the environmental factors within one’s control, and offspring’s developmental delays may provide valuable clues to aid in its prevention. This study aimed to investigate the association between fruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy and offspring’s development at 2 years of age, when they are at the early stages of development. We investigated the association between changes in fruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy and offspring’s development at 2 years of age to evaluate the appropriate period for these consumption

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