Maternal obesity, fish intake, and recurrent spontaneous preterm birth

Moderate fish intake in early pregnancy is associated with decreased risk of preterm birth (PTB). Obesity during pregnancy is characterized by inflammation and insufficiency of essential fatty acids. The objective of this study was to measure the association between fish intake during pregnancy and risk of recurrent spontaneous (s) PTB among lean, overweight, and obese women.

This is secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for recurrent PTB prevention, 2005-2006. The primary exposure was fish intake at time of enrollment (16-22.9-week gestation). The primary outcomes were sPTB <37 weeks and sPTB <35 weeks. Maternal prepregnancy body mass index was treated as an effect modifier.

Eight hundred and fifty-two women were included, 47% were lean, 25% overweight, and 28% obese.

In this cohort, among lean, but not overweight or obese women, ≥1 serving of fish per week was associated with decreased frequency of sPTB <37 weeks compared with <1 serving of fish per week (45.1% versus 27.5%, p = .001) and spontaneous PTB <35 (21.4% versus 11.6%, p = .01). In adjusted models, as fish intake increased, the predicted probability of sPTB decreased in lean women but increased in overweight and obese women (p for interaction < .10).

Fish intake was associated with lower probability of sPTB in lean women and higher probability in obese women. These findings warrant further investigation to understand the dietary or metabolic factors associated with obesity that may modulate benefit of fish intake during pregnancy.