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Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
03:19

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

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Fruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy and developmental delays in offspring aged 2 years in

Yudai Yonezawa1,2, Fumihiko Ueno1,3, Taku Obara1,3,4

  • 1Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi980-8573, Japan.

The British Journal of Nutrition
|June 14, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Maternal intake of fruits and vegetables before and during pregnancy may reduce the risk of developmental delays in children. High consumption of vegetables and fruits was linked to better developmental outcomes in offspring aged two years.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Pediatrics
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Previous research has established links between maternal diet and offspring's physical growth.
  • However, the impact of maternal fruit and vegetable consumption on offspring's neurological development remains under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between maternal fruit and vegetable intake before and during pregnancy and developmental delays in 2-year-old offspring.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study (23,406 women recruited).
  • Assessed fruit and vegetable consumption via Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ).
  • Evaluated offspring developmental delays using the Ages & Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-3) at 2 years of age.

Main Results:

  • Analysis included 10,420 mothers and 10,543 infants; 14.9% of children exhibited developmental delays.
  • Higher vegetable consumption (pre-pregnancy to early pregnancy and early to mid-pregnancy) was associated with lower odds of developmental delays (OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.63-0.89 and OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.59-0.84).
  • Higher fruit consumption (early to mid-pregnancy) was also linked to reduced odds of developmental delays (OR 0.78; 95% CI 0.66-0.92).

Conclusions:

  • High maternal intake of fruits and vegetables before and during pregnancy is associated with a decreased risk of developmental delays in offspring at age two.
  • These findings highlight the importance of maternal nutrition for child neurodevelopment.

Keywords:
Child DevelopmentFetal DevelopmentFruitPregnancyVegetables

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