Association Between Infants Anthropometric Outcomes With Maternal AHEI-P and DII Scores

Area of Science:

• Maternal and child health
• Nutritional epidemiology
• Perinatal outcomes

Background:

• Maternal nutrition significantly influences fetal development and infant anthropometric outcomes.
• Dietary patterns during pregnancy, assessed by indices like the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and Alternate Healthy Eating Index for Pregnancy (AHEI-P), may play a crucial role.
• Understanding these associations can inform public health strategies for improving birth outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between maternal DII and AHEI-P scores in the third trimester of pregnancy and infant anthropometric outcomes.
• To determine if maternal dietary patterns influence birth weight, birth height, and head circumference.
• To provide insights into optimizing maternal nutrition for enhanced infant development.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study involving 122 pregnant women and their newborns in Tehran, Iran.
• Maternal dietary intake, body mass index (BMI), and socioeconomic status were assessed.
• Infant anthropometric data (birth weight, height, head circumference, gestational age) were collected from health records.

Main Results:

• Infants born to mothers with the highest DII quartile had significantly lower birth weight and height compared to those in the lowest quartile.
• Infants in the lowest AHEI-P quartile had significantly lower birth weight compared to those in higher quartiles.
• No significant association was found between maternal DII scores and infant head circumference.

Conclusions:

• Lower maternal DII scores and higher AHEI-P scores in the third trimester may be associated with improved infant anthropometric outcomes.
• Maternal dietary patterns are important factors influencing infant growth.
• Further research with longer follow-up is recommended to confirm these findings.