Higher Fish Consumption in Pregnancy May Confer Protection against the Harmful Effect of Prenatal Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter (original) (raw)
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Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2008
coughing was associated significantly with PM 2.5 level (IRR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.77-3.58), moulds in the household, parity, maternal atopy and postnatal ETS, but was lower in girls, and in infants whose mothers consumed more fish in pregnancy (IRR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.79-0.91). The risk of wheezing was also correlated significantly with the prenatal exposure to PM 2.5 (IRR = 1.36; 95% CI: 1.29-1.43) but also with the presence of moulds in homes, parity, maternal atopy and postnatal ETS. The occurrence of wheezing was associated inversely with the gender of child, gestational age, and fish consumption in pregnancy (IRR = 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95-0.99). Similarly, the risk of difficult (puffy) breathing increased with prenatal exposure to PM 2.5 (IRR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.12-1.25) moulds, maternal atopy, and parity. The symptom occurrence was lower in girls and associated inversely with the gestational age, and fish consumption in pregnancy (IRR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.92-0.97). The results of the study support the hypothesis that fish consumption in pregnancy may mitigate the harmful effect of prenatal or perinatal exposure to components of PM 2.5 resulting in an increased burden of respiratory infections among infants.
To sea or not to sea: benefits and risks of gestational fish consumption
Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.), 2008
Prenatal nutritional status and the gestational environmental milieu have increasingly been identified as major determinants of long-term morbidity and mortality for the developing child. While omega-3 fatty acids - found abundantly in fish - are required for normal fetal development as well as for optimal maternal outcome, recent public health warnings to limit some types of seafood intake because of potential contamination with chemical toxicants have resulted in a dilemma for prenatal educators and maternity care providers. This paper reviews the benefits and harms of gestational seafood consumption and provides practical recommendations to address this important public health dilemma.
Public Health Nutrition, 2018
Objective: To evaluate the relationships between maternal fish consumption and pregnancy outcomes in a large, population-based sample of women in the USA. Design: We collected average fish consumption prior to pregnancy using a modified version of the semi-quantitative Willett FFQ. We estimated adjusted OR (aOR) and 95 % CI for associations between different levels of fish consumption and preterm birth (<37 weeks), early preterm birth (<32 and <35 weeks) and small-for-gestational-age infants (SGA; <10th percentile). Setting: The National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). Subjects: Control mother-infant pairs with estimated delivery dates between 1997 and 2011 (n 10 919). Results: No significant associations were observed between fish consumption and preterm birth or early preterm birth (aOR = 0•7-1•0 and 0•7-0•9, respectively). The odds of having an SGA infant were elevated (aOR = 2•1; 95 % CI 1•2, 3•4) among women with daily fish consumption compared with women consuming fish less than once per month. No associations were observed between other levels of fish consumption and SGA (aOR = 0•8-1•0). Conclusions: High intake of fish was associated with twofold higher odds of having an SGA infant, while moderate fish consumption prior to pregnancy was not associated with preterm or SGA. Our study, like many other studies in this area, lacked information regarding preparation methods and the specific types of fish consumed. Future studies should incorporate information on nutrient and contaminant contents, preparation methods and biomarkers to assess these relationships.
Maternal Fish Consumption, Mercury Levels, and Risk of Preterm Delivery
Environmental Health Perspectives, 2006
BACKGROUND: Pregnant women receive mixed messages about fish consumption in pregnancy because unsaturated fatty acids and protein in fish are thought to be beneficial, but contaminants such as methylmercury may pose a hazard. METHODS: In the Pregnancy Outcomes and Community Health (POUCH) study, women were enrolled in the 15th to 27th week of pregnancy from 52 prenatal clinics in five Michigan communities. At enrollment, information was gathered on amount and category of fish consumed during the current pregnancy, and a hair sample was obtained. A segment of hair closest to the scalp, approximating exposure during pregnancy, was assessed for total mercury levels (70-90% methylmercury) in 1,024 POUCH cohort women. RESULTS: Mercury levels ranged from 0.01 to 2.50 µg/g (mean = 0.29 µg/g; median = 0.23 µg/g). Total fish consumption and consumption of canned fish, bought fish, and sport-caught fish were positively associated with mercury levels in hair. The greatest fish source for mercury exposure appeared to be canned fish. Compared with women delivering at term, women who delivered before 35 weeks' gestation were more likely to have hair mercury levels at or above the 90th percentile (≥ 0.55 µg/g), even after adjusting for maternal characteristics and fish consumption (adjusted odds ratio = 3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-6.7). CONCLUSION: This is the first large, community-based study to examine risk of very preterm birth in relation to mercury levels among women with low to moderate exposure. Additional studies are needed to see whether these findings will be replicated in other settings. KEY WORDS: fish consumption, pregnancy, preterm delivery, mercury. Environ Health Perspect 115:42-47 (2007). doi:10.1289/ehp.9329 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 25 September 2006]
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2013
Background: Fish is a rich source of essential nutrients for fetal development, but in contrast, it is also a well-known route of exposure to environmental pollutants. Objective: We assessed whether fish intake during pregnancy is associated with fetal growth and the length of gestation in a panel of European birth cohort studies. Design: The study sample of 151,880 mother-child pairs was derived from 19 population-based European birth cohort studies. Individual data from cohorts were pooled and harmonized. Adjusted cohort-specific effect estimates were combined by using a randomand fixed-effects meta-analysis. Results: Women who ate fish .1 time/wk during pregnancy had lower risk of preterm birth than did women who rarely ate fish (#1 time/wk); the adjusted RR of fish intake .1 but ,3 times/wk was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.92), and for intake 3times/wk,theadjustedRRwas0.89(953 times/wk, the adjusted RR was 0.89 (95% CI: 0.84, 0.96). Women with a higher intake of fish during pregnancy gave birth to neonates with a higher birth weight by 8.9 g (95% CI: 3.3, 14.6 g) for .1 but ,3 times/wk and 15.2 g (95% CI: 8.9, 21.5 g) for 3times/wk,theadjustedRRwas0.89(953 times/wk independent of gestational age. The association was greater in smokers and in overweight or obese women. Findings were consistent across cohorts. Conclusion: This large, international study indicates that moderate fish intake during pregnancy is associated with lower risk of preterm birth and a small but significant increase in birth weight.
British Journal of Nutrition, 2013
Maternal fish intake during pregnancy may influence the risk of child asthma and allergic rhinitis, yet evidence is conflicting on its association with these outcomes. We examined the associations of maternal fish intake during pregnancy with child asthma and allergic rhinitis. Mothers in the Danish National Birth Cohort (n 28 936) reported their fish intake at 12 and 30 weeks of gestation. Using multivariate logistic regression, we examined the associations of fish intake with child wheeze, asthma and rhinitis assessed at several time points: ever wheeze, recurrent wheeze (.3 episodes), ever asthma and allergic rhinitis, and current asthma, assessed at 18 months (n approximately 22 000) and 7 years (n approximately 17 000) using self-report and registry data on hospitalisations and prescribed medications. Compared with consistently high fish intake during pregnancy (fish as a sandwich or hot meal $2 -3 times/week), never eating fish was associated with a higher risk of child asthma diagnosis at 18 months (OR 1·30, 95 % CI 1·05, 1·63, P¼ 0·02), and ever asthma by hospitalisation (OR 1·46, 95 % CI 0·99, 2·13, P¼ 0·05) and medication prescription (OR 1·37, 95 % CI 1·10, 1·71, P¼ 0·01). A dose -response was present for asthma at 18 months only (P for trend¼ 0·001). We found no associations with wheeze or recurrent wheeze at 18 months or with allergic rhinitis. The results suggest that high (v. no) maternal fish intake during pregnancy is protective against both early and ever asthma in 7-year-old children.
Maternal fish consumption and infant birth size and gestation: New York State Angler Cohort Study
Environmental health : a global access science source, 2003
The scientific literature poses a perplexing dilemma for pregnant women with respect to the consumption of fish from natural bodies of water. On one hand, fish is a good source of protein, low in fat and a rich source of other nutrients all of which have presumably beneficial effects on developing embryos and fetuses. On the other hand, consumption of fish contaminated with environmental toxicants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has been associated with decrements in gestation and birth size. 2,716 infants born between 1986-1991 to participants of the New York State Angler Cohort Study were studied with respect to duration of maternal consumption of contaminated fish from Lake Ontario and its tributaries and gestation and birth size. Hospital delivery records (maternal and newborn) were obtained for 92% of infants for the ascertainment of gestation (weeks), birth size (weight, length, chest, and head circumference) and other known determinants of fetal growth (i.e., materna...
American Journal of Epidemiology, 2007
The authors examined the relation between fish consumption during pregnancy and fetal growth among 44,824 women from the Danish National Birth Cohort (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002). They evaluated the associations between consumption of total fish, fatty fish, and lean fish in midpregnancy and birth weight, birth length, and head circumference among singleton full-term infants. Fish consumption was ascertained by food frequency questionnaire. The birth of infants classified below the 10th percentile for gestational age and gender was significantly increased among women who consumed more than 60 g of fish per day, as compared with women who consumed 5 g or less per day. Adjusted odds ratios were 1.24 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03, 1.49) for birth weight and 1.21 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.43) for head circumference. The adjusted odds ratio was borderline significant for birth length (odds ratio ¼ 1.20, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.45). These increases in risk were followed by small decreases in average values for these growth measures. Furthermore, the inverse association for total fish consumption could be explained by consumption of fatty fish, while no association was found for lean fish. These results indicate that consumption of fatty fish, a known route of exposure to persistent organic pollutants, could be associated with reduced fetal growth.