Effect of maternal food habits in periconceptional life with the occurrence of birth defects

Authors

  • Nusrat Shams Department of Pediatric Neurology, National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Alif Laila Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Jobaida Parvin Department of Pediatric Neurology, National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Mohammad Mohsin Department of Pediatrics, Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Ahmed Hosain Department of Pediatric Neurology, National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20232165

Keywords:

Maternal, Food habit, Periconceptional, Birth defects

Abstract

Background: Maternal periconceptional period can be defined as the critical window surrounding the period of conception. The periconceptional period consists of preconception, conception, implantation, placentation and embryo or organogenesis stages, and specific cellular events that occur during the distinct stages of embryogenesis. On the other hand, birth defects are structural changes present at birth that can affect almost any part of the body. They may affect how the body looks, works, or both. This study aimed to find maternal food habits in periconceptional life with the occurrence of birth defects.

Methods: This case-control study was conducted in both the Pediatric Surgery and Medicine Department of Dhaka Shishu (children) Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from January 2012 to December 2013. In total 280 ‘0-364 days old infants’ were included as the study subjects and divided into two equal groups in number, cases having a structural birth defect and controls without any birth defect. A pretested questionnaire was introduced after getting informed written consent from the mothers. Data were analyzed by statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) 16.0 version, by univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses and were presented by tables and graphs.

Results: In this study, most of the defects were distributed to the gastrointestinal system (18%), genito urinary system (16%), CVS (14%), NTD (13%), defect of the face (13%) and skull (11%). The isolated defect was in 80% of patients, multiple defects in 17% of patients and 3% syndromes were present. In this study, mothers ‘who took no meat/week’, ‘who took no fish/week’, ‘who took no egg/week’, ‘who took no milk/week’, experienced BD more and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05) between the groups. However, mothers who took vegetables less than once/week experienced BD more frequently, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (p>0.05).

Conclusions: In maternal food habits; less intake of meat, fish, milk and egg is significantly correlated with the occurrence of birth defects but there is not any significant correlation with vegetable intake.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Shaw GM, Carmichael SL, Yang W and Lammer EJ.Periconceptional nutrient intakes and risks of conotruncal heart defects. Birth Defects Res A Clin Moi Teraioi. 2010;88(3):144-51.

Czeizel AE.The primary prevention of birth defects: Multivitamins or folic acid? Int J Med Sci. 2004;1(1):50-61.

Zwink N, Jenetzky E and Brenner H. Parental risk factors and anorectal malformations: systematic review and meta-analysis. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2011;6:25-41.

Sutton M, Mills JL, Troendle AM, James F, Brody LC, Conley M. MaternalI vitamin levels in pregnancies affected by congenital malformations other than neural tube defects. Birth Defects Res A Clin Moi Teratol. 2011;91(7):610-5.

Li Z, Zhang L, Ye R, Pei L, Liu J, Zheng X. Indoor Air Pollution From Coal Combustion and the Risk of Neural Tube Defects in a Rural Population in Shanxi Province, China. Am J Epidemiol. 2011;1-8.

Akre O, Boyd HA, Ahlgren M, Wilbrand K, Westergaard T, Hjalgrim H. Maternal and Gestational Risk Factors for Hypospadias. Environ Health Perspect. 2008;116:1071-6.

Smithells RW, Sheppard S and Schorah CJ. Vitamin deficiencies and neural tube defects. Arch Dis Childhood. 1976;51:944-50.

Shawky RM, Sadik DI. Congenital malformations are prevalent among Egyptian children and associated risk factors. Egypt J Med Human Genet. 2011;12:69-78.

Committee on Genetics. Folic acid for the Prevention of Neural Tube Defect. Pediatrics. 1999;104(2):325-7.

Li Z, Ren A, Zhang L, Guo Z, Li Z. A population-based case-control study of risk factors for neural tube defects in four high-prevalence areas of Shanxi province, China. Pediatric Perinatal Epidemiol. 2006;20:43-53.

Slickers JE, Olshan AF, Siega-Riz AM, Honein MA, Aylsworth AS. Maternal body mass index and lifestyle exposures and the risk of bilateral renal agenesis or Hypoplasia. Am J Epidemiol. 2008;168:1259-67.

Yazdy MM, Liu S, Mitchell AA, Werler MM. Maternal Dietary Glycemic Intake and the Risk of Neural Tube Defects. Am J Epidemiol. 2010;171:407-14.

Waller DK, Shaw GM, Rasmussen SA, Hobbs CA, Canfield MA, Siega-Riz AM. Prepregnancy Obesity as a Risk Factor for Structural Birth Defects. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(8):745-50.

Zwink N, Jenetzky E, Brenner H. Parental risk factors and anorectal malformations: systematic review and meta-analysis. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2011;6:25-41.

Downloads

Published

2023-07-15

How to Cite

Shams, N., Laila, A., Parvin, J., Mohsin, M., & Hosain, A. (2023). Effect of maternal food habits in periconceptional life with the occurrence of birth defects. International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics, 10(8), 1171–1175. https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20232165

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles