Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jul:46:31-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2014.02.002. Epub 2014 Feb 22.

Dietary intake, nutrition, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

Philip A May  1 , Kari J Hamrick  2 , Karen D Corbin  3 , Julie M Hasken  3 , Anna-Susan Marais  4 , Lesley E Brooke  5 , Jason Blankenship  6 , H Eugene Hoyme  7 , J Phillip Gossage  6
Affiliations

Dietary intake, nutrition, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

Philip A May et al. Reprod Toxicol. 2014 Jul.

Abstract

In this study, we describe the nutritional status of women from a South African community with very high rates of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Nutrient intake (24-h recall) of mothers of children with FASD was compared to mothers of normal controls. Nutrient adequacy was assessed using Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs). More than 50% of all mothers were below the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for vitamins A, D, E, and C, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Mean intakes were below the Adequate Intake (AI) for vitamin K, potassium, and choline. Mothers of children with FASD reported significantly lower intake of calcium, docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), riboflavin, and choline than controls. Lower intake of multiple key nutrients correlates significantly with heavy drinking. Poor diet quality and multiple nutritional inadequacies coupled with prenatal alcohol exposure may increase the risk for FASD in this population.

Keywords: Dietary intake; Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; Nutrition; Pregnancy and alcohol; South Africa.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) of Essential Nutrition of Mothers of Children with FASD and Controls from a Community in South Africa.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Charlton KE, Rose D. Prevalence of household food poverty in South Africa: results from a large, nationally representative survey. Public Health Nutr. 2002;5:383–389. - PubMed
    1. Greer J, Thorbecke E. Food poverty profile applied to Kenyan smallholders. Economic Development and Cultural Change. 1986;35:115–141.
    1. Ravallion M. Food prices and rural poverty. Econ Polit Week. 1998;33:1870–1871.
    1. Rose D, Charlton KE. Quantitative indicators from a food expenditure survey can be used to target the food insecure in South Africa. J Nutr. 2002;132:3235–3242. - PubMed
    1. Lemke S, Vorster HH, van Rensburg NS, Ziche J. Empowered women, social networks and the contribution of qualitative research: broadening our understanding of underlying causes for food and nutrition insecurity. Public Health Nutr. 2003;6:759–764. - PubMed

Publication types