Eur J Epidemiol. 2006;21(10):749-58.
Duration of pregnancy in relation to seafood intake during early and mid
pregnancy: prospective cohort.
Olsen SF, ?terdal ML, Salvig JD, Kesmodel U, Henriksen TB, Hedegaard M,
Secher NJ.
Maternal Nutrition Group, Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, Statens
Serum Institut, Artillerivej 5, DK-2300, Copenhagen S, Denmark. sfo@soci. Au.dk
We examined the association between exposure to seafood intake during
two periods of pregnancy on the one hand and risks of preterm delivery
and postterm delivery on the other. In a prospective cohort of 8729
pregnant Danish women, we assessed frequency of fish meals during the
first and second trimester of pregnancy by questionnaires completed
around gestation weeks 16 and 30, respectively. When fish intake was
based solely on intake reported for the early period of pregnancy, mean
gestation length was shorter by 3.91 (95% CI: 2.24-5.58) days and odds
of preterm delivery were increased 2.38 (1.23-4.61) times in those who
never consumed fish (n = 308) vs. those who consumed both fish as main
meal and fish in sandwiches at least once per week (n = 785). These
measures were similar when fish intake was based solely on intake
reported for mid-pregnancy. In the subgroup of women reporting same
intake in the two trimesters, those who never consumed fish (n = 165)
had 8.57 (5.46-11.7) days shorter mean gestation and 19.6 (2.32-165)
times increased odds of preterm delivery, compared to high fish
consumers (n = 127); odds of elective and postterm delivery were reduced
by a factor 0.33 (0.11-1.02) and 0.34 (0.12-0.95), respectively, in zero
fish consumers. All analyses were adjusted for potential confounding by
factors such as maternal smoking, height, and prepregnant weight. We
conclude that never consuming fish in the first two trimesters of
pregnancy was an extremely strong risk factor for preterm delivery but
was also associated with reduced risks of elective delivery and postterm
delivery.
