Food and nutrient intakes in young adults born preterm

Area of Science:

• Perinatal Epidemiology
• Nutritional Science
• Cardiovascular Health

Background:

• Adults born preterm often present with elevated cardiometabolic risk factors.
• Previous research indicates suboptimal dietary habits in individuals born preterm, particularly those with the lowest birth weights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between early (<34 weeks) and late (34-36 weeks) preterm birth and dietary patterns in adulthood.
• To assess differences in diet quality and food preferences based on gestational age at birth.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from two Finnish cohort studies, including 182 early preterm, 352 late preterm, and 631 term-born individuals.
• Administered a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at age 24 to evaluate usual diet and adherence to healthy eating guidelines using a recommended diet index (RDI).

Main Results:

• Young women born early preterm demonstrated significantly lower RDI scores (indicating poorer diet quality) compared to term-born controls, even after adjusting for confounders.
• No significant dietary differences were observed between young women born late preterm and controls, nor among any of the male subgroups.
• Men born early preterm reported lower consumption of fruits and berries than term-born controls.

Conclusions:

• Early preterm birth is associated with reduced adherence to healthy eating guidelines among adult women.
• Dietary disparities observed in early preterm-born individuals may play a role in their heightened cardiometabolic risk profile.