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Maternal and pediatric nutrition

Fat intake during pregnancy and risk of preeclampsia: a prospective cohort study in Denmark

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 1040–1048 (2019)Cite this article

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A Correction to this article was published on 28 June 2021

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Abstract

Background

Previous studies suggest that eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), may decrease the risk of preeclampsia, but many suffer from important methodological limitations.

Methods

We prospectively examined the association between fat intake during pregnancy and preeclampsia and among 65,220 singleton pregnancies in the Danish National Birth Cohort (1996–2002). Women were asked to report their diet around gestation week 20 with a food frequency questionnaire. Preeclampsia diagnosis was obtained via linkage with the Danish National Patient Registry. We estimated relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia according to fat intake using logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations to account for repeated pregnancies per woman while adjusting for potential confounders.

Results

We documented 1302 cases of preeclampsia, including 301 cases of severe preeclampsia. Intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids was associated to preeclampsia. Women in the top quintile of DHA intake had a lower risk of preeclampsia (RR 0.67 (0.51–0.89)) and severe preeclampsia (RR 0.46 (0.25–0.83)) than women in the bottom quintile. Women who met daily recommended intake of EPA+DHA according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (≥250 mg/day), had a lower risk of severe preeclampsia (RR 0.77 (0.60–0.99)), but not of preeclampsia (RR 0.93 (0.82–1.05)). Conversely, ALA intake was associated with higher risk of severe preeclampsia (RR 1.71 (1.07–2.75)).

Conclusions

Higher intake of DHA is inversely related to preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia, whereas ALA increases the risk of severe preeclampsia among Danish women.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Mariel Arvizu, Sjurdur F. Olsen & Jorge E. Chavarro

  2. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Myriam C. Afeiche

  3. Centre for Fetal Programming, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Susanne Hansen, Thorhallur F. Halldorsson & Sjurdur F. Olsen

  4. Unit for Nutrition Research, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Thorhallur F. Halldorsson

  5. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Jorge E. Chavarro

  6. Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jorge E. Chavarro

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  1. Mariel Arvizu
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Contributions

SFO and JEC designed the research study. MA and SH analyzed data. SFO and TIH contributed to the acquisition of data. The manuscript was written by MCA and MA. MA, SH, MCA, TIH, SFO, and JEC critically revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jorge E. Chavarro.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Arvizu, M., Afeiche, M.C., Hansen, S. et al. Fat intake during pregnancy and risk of preeclampsia: a prospective cohort study in Denmark. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 1040–1048 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0290-z

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