Maternal consumption of non-staple food in the first trimester and risk of neural tube defects in offspring.

Meng Wang,Li-Jie Gao,Zhi-Ping Wang,Zhong-Tang Zhao,Hui Yang

doi:10.3390/nu7053067

Abstract

To study the associations between maternal consumption of non-staple food in the first trimester and risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) in offspring. Data collected from a hospital-based case-control study conducted between 2006 and 2008 in Shandong/Shanxi provinces including 459 mothers with NTDs-affected births and 459 mothers without NTDs-affected births. Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between maternal consumption of non-staple food in the first trimester and risk of NTDs in offspring. The effects were evaluated by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) with SAS9.1.3.software. Maternal consumption of milk, fresh fruits and nuts in the first trimester were protective factors for total NTDs. Compared with consumption frequency of ˂1 meal/week, the ORs for milk consumption frequency of 1–2, 3–6, ≥7 meals/week were 0.50 (95% CI: 0.28–0.88), 0.56 (0.32–0.99), and 0.59 (0.38–0.90), respectively; the ORs for fresh fruits consumption frequency of 1–2, 3–6, ≥7 meals/week were 0.29 (95% CI: 0.12–0.72), 0.22 (0.09–0.53), and 0.32 (0.14–0.71), respectively; the ORs for nuts consumption frequency of 1–2, 3–6, ≥7 meals/week were 0.60 (95% CI: 0.38–0.94), 0.49 (0.31–0.79), and 0.63 (0.36–1.08), respectively. Different effects of above factors on NTDs were found for subtypes of anencephaly and spina bifida. Maternal non-staple food consumption of milk, fresh fruits and nuts in the first trimester was associated with reducing NTDs risk in offspring.

Highlights

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a group of severe human congenital malformations caused by the incomplete closure of neural tube within about 28 days following conception [1]
We found that maternal non-staple food consumption of milk, fresh fruits and nuts in the first trimester were associated with NTDs risk in offspring
Maternal consumption of milk in the first trimester was associated with reducing the risk for total NTDs and spina bifida, but not for anencephaly

Summary

Introduction

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a group of severe human congenital malformations caused by the incomplete closure of neural tube within about 28 days following conception [1]. Folic acid and vitamin B12, as crucial factors for metabolic pathways, have been extensively studied and demonstrated the important roles in development of NTDs [2,3]. Since the introduction of folic acid fortification in staple food, many countries have reported declines in NTDs incidence overall [4,5,6,7,8,9]. A large number of NTDs cases still occur and the cause remains unclear. Studies have reported that intake of fresh fruits or vegetables, unpasteurized milk, pickled vegetables and caffeine during pregnancy may be associated with NTDs risk in offspring [10,11,12,13]

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Conclusion