Abstract
The geographical variation of maternal dietary patterns related to birth outcomes is important for improving the health of mothers and children; however, it is currently unknown. Thus, the objective of the study was to investigate geographical variations of maternal dietary pattern during pregnancy, and evaluate the spatial varying association of maternal dietary patterns in pregnancy with abnormal birth weight. A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Shaanxi province in Northwest China in 2013 to evaluate the relationship between abnormal birth weight and dietary pattern using the Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression (GWLR). Three dietary patterns during pregnancy were extracted through factor analysis, explaining approximately 45.8% of the variability of food intake. Approximately 81.6% of mothers with higher scores on the equilibrium pattern was more unlikely to have small for gestational age (SGA) infants, with the lower OR observed in Central and South Shaanxi. The snacks pattern was positively associated with low birth weight (LBW) for 23.2% of participants, with the highest OR in Central Shaanxi. Among about 80.0% of participants with higher scores on the snacks pattern living in South and Central Shaanxi, there was a higher risk for SGA. The OR values tend to descend from South to North Shaanxi. The OR values of the negative association between prudent pattern and LBW decreased from South to North Shaanxi among approximately 59.3% of participants. The prudent pattern was also negatively associated with the increasing risk of fetal macrosomia among 19.2% of participants living mainly in South Shaanxi. The association of maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy with abnormal birth weight varied geographically across Shaanxi province. The findings emphasize the importance of geographical distribution to improve the dietary patterns among disadvantaged pregnant women.
Highlights
Dietary patterns are useful to examine the quality of a person’s overall diet related to health outcomes because it is acknowledged that consumption of individual food or nutrients does not occur in isolation but interacts with each other
Current studies regarding to the association of maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy with adverse birth outcomes have not always been consistent across regions [7, 8], which at least in part might have resulted from geographical heterogeneity
A total of 173 towns/streets were chosen within 30 counties in Shaanxi province, and 7,934 live infants were included in the final analysis
Summary
Dietary patterns are useful to examine the quality of a person’s overall diet related to health outcomes because it is acknowledged that consumption of individual food or nutrients does not occur in isolation but interacts with each other. Because of socio-cultural and geographical reasons, maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy are different and populationspecific in each area [5, 6]. Current studies regarding to the association of maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy with adverse birth outcomes have not always been consistent across regions [7, 8], which at least in part might have resulted from geographical heterogeneity. There was few evidence demonstrating the geographical difference in the relationship between maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy and birth outcomes of infants. It is necessary to find an efficient way to uncover such geographically varying characteristics of maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy that are associated with birth outcomes, which would facilitate the identification of links between diet and adverse birth outcomes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
