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A prospective study of trans fat intake and risk of preeclampsia in Denmark

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages 944–951 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

An association between biomarkers of trans fat intake and greater risk of preeclampsia has been reported, but research in this area is scant. Thus, we examined the association of second trimester intake of trans fats with risk of preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia.

Subjects/Methods:

We followed 67 186 pregnancies of women participating in the Danish National Birth Cohort between 1998 and 2003. Diet was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire at gestation week 25, and preeclampsia diagnosis was obtained by linkage with the Danish National Patient Registry.

Results:

There were 1804 cases of preeclampsia and 402 cases of severe preeclampsia identified in the cohort. Intake of trans fats decreased during the study period as a consequence of a reduction in industrial trans fat intake. Second trimester intake of trans fats was unrelated to risk of preeclampsia or severe preeclampsia. The relative risk (95% confidence interval; P, trend) of preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia comparing top to bottom quintiles of trans fat intake were 0.95(0.81; 1.11, 0.33) and 1.07 (0.78; 1.48, 0.92), respectively.

Conclusion:

Second trimester intake of trans fats is unrelated to risk of preeclampsia within the intake range observed in a period of gradual reduction of industrial trans fats from the Danish food supply.

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Acknowledgements

The work reported in this manuscript was supported by the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation (6-FY-96-0240, 6-FY97-0553, 6-FY97-0521, 6-FY00-407), EU (QLK1-CT-2000-00083), Danish National Research Foundation, Danish Medical Research Council (9601842 and 22-03-0536), Danish Health Foundation (11/263-96), Danish Heart Foundation (96-2-4-83-22450) and the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (5P30DK46200-18).

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    J E Chavarro & S F Olsen

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    J E Chavarro

  3. Department of Medicine, Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    J E Chavarro

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

    T I Halldorsson & S F Olsen

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

    T I Halldorsson

  6. Division of Food Chemistry, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

    T Leth & A Bysted

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  1. J E Chavarro
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  4. A Bysted
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Correspondence to J E Chavarro.

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Chavarro, J., Halldorsson, T., Leth, T. et al. A prospective study of trans fat intake and risk of preeclampsia in Denmark. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 944–951 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.66

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