Key Nutrient Intake for Fetal Health Down Over 20 Years

TOPLINE:
Diets have changed significantly among women of reproductive age over the past 20 years. Overall, women consumed less vitamin A, vitamin C, and iron, while intake of calcium, vitamin K, and magnesium increased.
METHODOLOGY:
Researchers set out to analyze the micronutrient composition of women of childbearing age over time to determine any shortfalls that could influence maternal and fetal health.
Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2018 was used.
Women between the ages of 20 and 44 years were included (1392 pregnant, 9737 nonpregnant) who provided at least one reliable dietary recall.
Participants reported their food intake over the previous 24 hours during mobile examination visits and follow-up phone interviews.
Nutrient intake from foods, beverages, and supplements were analyzed, focusing on macronutrients and micronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, calcium, iron, and vitamins A, C, and K.
TAKEAWAY:
Carbohydrate intake decreased significantly among pregnant women (from 306.9 to 274.9 g/d; P < .001) between 1999 and 2018, as well as for women who were not pregnant (from 251.9 to 216.9 g/d; P = .002) over the same time period.
The proportion of pregnant women who were not getting enough vitamin A and vitamin C increased by 10.9 percentage points and 8.9 percentage points, respectively.
Calcium intake increased among both pregnant women (from 1120.6 to 1308.7 mg/d; P = .03) and nonpregnant women (from 849.5 to 981.2 mg/d; P < .001), with a notable decrease in the proportion of women at risk for inadequate intake.
The proportion of pregnant women with inadequate magnesium intake significantly decreased, as did the proportion of those with inadequate vitamin K intake (all P < .001).
IN PRACTICE:
“By identifying these nutrient gaps and trends in inadequate intake in this at-risk population, scientific, health care, and regulatory communities may be better poised to adopt recommendations to improve nutrient intake,” wrote the authors of the story.
SOURCE:
The study was led by Derek Miketinas, PhD, RD, of the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at Texas Woman’s University in Houston. It was published online on October 10 in JAMA Network Open.
LIMITATIONS:
The sample sizes within survey cycles were small, which may have made results less reliable. Information obtained from dietary recalls may have contained errors, which could have led to inaccurate results. Serum biomarkers were not analyzed, which could have helped measure deficiencies. Newly released data from 2019 to early 2020 was not included.
DISCLOSURES:
Various study authors reported receiving grants, consulting, and working for Mead Johnson and Reckitt-Mead Johnson. No other disclosures were reported.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
 
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