J Nutr. 2024 Apr 8:S0022-3166(24)00180-9. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.04.011. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cholesterol plays a vital role in fetal growth and development during pregnancy. There remains controversial over whether pregnant women should limit their cholesterol intake.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between maternal dietary cholesterol intake during pregnancy and infant birth weight in a Chinese prospective cohort study.
METHODS: A total of 4,146 mother-child pairs were included based on the Jiangsu Birth Cohort (JBC) study. Maternal dietary information was assessed with a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Birth weight z-scores and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infants were converted by the INTERGROWTH-21st neonatal weight-for-gestational-age standard. Poisson regression and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were employed to examine the relationships between LGA and maternal dietary cholesterol across the entire pregnancy and trimester-specific cholesterol intake, respectively.
RESULTS: The median intake of maternal total dietary cholesterol during the entire pregnancy was 671.06 mg/d, with eggs being the main source. Maternal total dietary cholesterol and egg-sourced cholesterol were associated with an increase of birth weight z-score, with per SD increase in maternal total and egg-sourced dietary cholesterol being associated with an increase of 0.16 (95% CI: 0.07, 0.25) and 0.06 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.09) in birth weight z-score, respectively. Egg-derived cholesterol intake in the first and third trimesters were positively linked to LGA, with adjusted relative risk (aRR) of 1.11 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.18) and 1.09 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.18). Compared to mothers consuming ≤7 eggs/week in the third trimester, aRR for having LGA newborn was 1.37 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.72) for consuming 8-10 eggs/week and 1.45 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.86) for consuming >10 eggs/week (p for trend=0.015).
CONCLUSIONS: Maternal total dietary cholesterol intake, as well as consuming over 7 eggs/week during pregnancy displayed significant positive relationships with the incidence of LGA, suggesting that mothers should avoid excessive cholesterol intake during pregnancy to prevent adverse birth outcomes.
PMID:38599384 | DOI:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.04.011
