Periconceptional multivitamin use and risk of preterm or small-for-gestational-age Births in the Danish National birth cohort

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  • Janet M. Catov
  • Lisa M. Bodnar
  • Jorn Olsen
  • Sjurdur Olsen
  • Ellen A. Nohr

Background: The intake of periconceptional multivitamins may decrease the risk of preterm births (PTBs) or small-for-gestational-age (SGA) births. Objective: We related the timing and frequency of periconceptional multivitamin use to SGA births and PTBs and its clinical presentations (ie, preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes, and medical induction). Design: Women in the Danish National Birth Cohort (n = 35,897) reported the number of weeks of multivitamin use during a 12-wk periconceptional period. Cox regression was used to estimate the relation between any multivitamin use and PTBs (<37 wk) or SGA births (birth weight adjusted for gestational age >2 SDs below the mean on the basis of fetal growth curves). The timing (preconception and postconception) and frequency of use were also analyzed. Regular users (4-6 wk) and partial users (1-3 wk) in each period were compared with nonusers. Results: The association between periconceptional multivitamin use and PTBs varied according to prepregnancy overweight status (P-interaction = 0.07). Regular preconception and postconception multivitamin use in women with a prepregnancy BMI (in kg/m 2) <25 was associated with reduced risks of a PTB (HR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.95) and preterm labor (HR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.94). No similar associations were shown for overweight women. The adjusted risk of an SGA birth was reduced in multivitamin users regardless of their prepregnancy BMI (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.95), with the strongest association in regular users in the postconception period. Conclusion: Regular periconceptional multivitamin use was associated with reduced risk of SGA births and PTBs in nonoverweight women.

Original languageEnglish
Book seriesAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume94
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)906-912
Number of pages7
ISSN0002-9165
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes

ID: 307331466