Maternal fatty acid intake and fetal growth: evidence for an association in overweight women. The ‘EDEN mother–child’ cohort (study of pre- and early postnatal determinants of the child's development and health)

• Published in: British journal of nutrition 2009-02, Vol.101 (4), p.583-591
• Main Authors: Drouillet, Peggy, Forhan, Anne, De Lauzon-Guillain, Blandine, Thiébaugeorges, Olivier, Goua, Valérie, Magnin, Guillaume, Schweitzer, Michel, Kaminski, Monique, Ducimetière, Pierre, Charles, Marie-Aline
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; anthropometric measurements; arm circumference; Biological and medical sciences; Birth Weight; Body Height; child development; Diet; Epidemiology; fat intake; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids - administration & dosage; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - administration & dosage; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated - administration & dosage; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; fetal development; Fetal Development - physiology; Fetuses; France; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glucose; head circumference; Human and Clinical Nutrition; human health; Humans; Infant, Newborn; infants; maternal nutrition; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Middle Aged; monounsaturated fatty acids; mothers; n-3 Fatty acids; neonates; nutrient intake; Obesity; omega-3 fatty acids; Overweight; Overweight - metabolism; perinatal period; polyunsaturated fatty acids; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications - metabolism; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Prospective Studies; Questionnaires; Regression Analysis; saturated fatty acids; Seafood; skinfold thickness; Social Class; temporal variation; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Womens health; wrist circumference
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114508025038

Recent studies suggest a benefit of seafood and n-3 fatty acid intake on fetal growth and infant development. The objective was to study the association between fatty acid intake and fetal growth in pregnant French women. Pregnant women included in the EDEN mother–child cohort study completed FFQ on their usual diet: (1) in the year before pregnancy and (2) during the last 3 months of pregnancy (n 1439). Conversion into nutrient intakes was performed using data on portion size and a French food composition table. Associations between maternal fatty acid intakes and several neonatal anthropometric measurements were studied using linear regressions adjusted for centre, mother's age, smoking habits, height, parity, gestational age and newborn's sex. Due to significant interaction, analyses were stratified according to maternal pre-pregnancy overweight status. Neither total lipid nor SFA, MUFA or PUFA intake was significantly associated with newborn size. In overweight women only (n 366), a high pre-pregnancy n-3 fatty acid intake (% PUFA) was positively associated with the newborn's birth weight (P = 0·01), head, arm and wrist circumferences and sum of skinfolds (P