Association between frequency of breakfast intake before and during pregnancy and developmental delays in children: the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study

Abstract Background Although an association between maternal nutritional intake and developmental delays in children has been demonstrated, the association of the timing of meal intake and development delays remains unclear. We examined the association between breakfast intake frequency before and during pregnancy and developmental delay in children. Methods Of the pregnant women who participated in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Three-Generation Cohort Study, 7491 answered the required questions and were analyzed. The frequency of breakfast intake from pre- to early pregnancy and from early to mid-pregnancy was classified into four groups: daily, and 5–6, 3–4, and 0–2 times/week. Child developmental delays at age 2 and 3.5 years were assessed using the Ages & Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition. Logistic regression models were constructed to examine the association between breakfast intake frequency in pregnant women and developmental delays in children aged 2 and 3.5 years. Results The proportion of pregnant women who had breakfast daily was 78.1% in pre- to early pregnancy, and 82.2% in early to mid-pregnancy. The proportion of children with developmental delays was 14.7% and 13.4% at age 2 and 3.5 years, respectively. Compared with the risk in children of women who had breakfast daily from pre- to early pregnancy, children of women who had breakfast 0–2 times/week had a higher risk of developmental delays at 2 years of age: odds ratio (OR) 1.30, (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02–1.66). The risk of developmental delays at age 2 years increased in the children of women who had breakfast 0–2 times/week in early to mid- pregnancy: OR 1.75 (95% CI, 1.32–2.32). The risk of developmental delays at age 3.5 years did not increase in the children of women who had breakfast 0–2 times/week from pre- to early and early to mid-pregnancy: OR 1.06 (95% CI, 0.81–1.39 and OR 1.15 (95% CI 0.84–1.57), respectively. Conclusion For women with a low frequency of breakfast intake from pre- to mid-pregnancy there was an association with developmental delays in their children at age 2, but not at 3.5 years

Dietary calcium intake was related to the onset of pre‐eclampsia: The TMM BirThree Cohort Study

Abstract This study aimed to explore the relationship between dietary electrolyte intake and the prevalence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) subtypes. Our analysis included 19 914 pregnant women from the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three‐Generation Cohort Study. A food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate dietary calcium, potassium, sodium, and magnesium intakes. HDP was determined based on the medical records during regular antenatal care. Logistic regression analysis assessed the relationship between dietary electrolytes intake quintiles, and HDP subtypes with adjustment for basic characteristics. Dietary electrolyte intakes were applied for the prediction model. Of the cohort, 547 participants delivered with pre‐eclampsia (PE), 278 with superimposed PE (SP), and 896 with gestational hypertension (GH). PE was associated with low crude calcium intake (odds ratio of the first quintile [623 mg/day] and 95% confidence interval, 1.31 [1.00–1.70]) and P for trend was .02. SP was not associated with any nutritional intake; however, the combined outcome of PE and SP was related to low crude calcium and potassium and energy‐adjusted calcium, potassium, and magnesium intakes (P for trend, .01, .048, .02, .04, and .02, respectively). The same tendency was observed for GH. A prediction model that included crude calcium and potassium intakes performed better than a model without them. In conclusion, low dietary calcium, potassium, and magnesium were associated with higher HDP subtypes prevalence. The prediction model implied that crude calcium and potassium intakes might play a critical role in PE and SP pathogenesis