Trajectories of dietary patterns from pregnancy to 12 years post-pregnancy and associated maternal characteristics: evidence from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

• Published in: European journal of nutrition Vol. 62; no. 7; pp. 2763 - 2777
• Main Authors: Pervin, Sonia, Emmett, Pauline, Northstone, Kate, Townsend, Nick, Fatima, Yaqoot, Huda, M. Mamun, David McIntyre, H., Al Mamun, Abdullah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-10-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Child; Cigarette smoking; Diet; Diet, Healthy; Drug addiction; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Medical personnel; Mothers; Nutrition; Original Contribution; Parents; Pregnancy; Principal components analysis; Pregnancy; Smoking cessation; Dietary patterns; Dietary patterns trajectories; Group-based trajectory modelling; ALSPAC; PCA
• ISSN: 1436-6207; 1436-6215
• DOI: 10.1007/s00394-023-03185-x

Purpose
Dietary patterns (DPs) during pregnancy have been well researched. However, little is known about maternal diet after pregnancy. The aim of the study was to explore maternal DPs longitudinally, examine trajectories over 12 years after pregnancy and identify associated factors.
Methods
Of 14,541 pregnant women enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) complete dietary information was available for 5336 women. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to derive DPs. DP scores at each time point were used to create DP trajectories using group-based trajectory modelling (GBTM). Multinomial logistic regression assessed the association with maternal factors.
Results
A total of six distinct DPs were identified over time with different numbers of DPs at each time point. The “healthy” and “processed” DPs persisted over the 12-year post-pregnancy. Three trajectories of “healthy” and “processed” DPs were identified from GBTM. Half the women were on the moderately healthy DP trajectory with 37% on the lower trajectory and 9% on the higher healthy DP trajectory. 59% of women were on the lower processed DP trajectory with 38% on the moderate trajectory and 3.3% on the higher processed DP trajectory. Low educational attainment, low social class and smoking in pregnancy were independently associated with being on a less favourable DP trajectory over the 12 years.
Conclusion
Health professionals should provide support on smoking cessation along with healthy eating advice during ante-natal counselling. Continued support on eating healthily after pregnancy would be beneficial for mothers and families.