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. 2021 Aug 20;9(10):5676-5688.
doi: 10.1002/fsn3.2532. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Fruit and vegetable consumption and serum vitamin A in lactating women: A cross-sectional survey in urban China

Chenlu Yang  1 , Ai Zhao  2 , Hanglian Lan  3   4 , Jian Zhang  1 , Zhongxia Ren  1 , Ignatius Man-Yau Szeto  3   4 , Peiyu Wang  5 , Yumei Zhang  1   6
Affiliations

Fruit and vegetable consumption and serum vitamin A in lactating women: A cross-sectional survey in urban China

Chenlu Yang et al. Food Sci Nutr. .

Abstract

During the lactation period, healthy eating behavior is essential to maternal and child health. However, Chinese lactating women may have some traditional food restrictions. Our aims were to evaluate the fruit and vegetable consumption of Chinese lactating women and to examine the associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and serum vitamin A concentrations. A total of 885 participants were included. Dietary intakes were assessed during the same time frame as blood collection via a one-time 24-h dietary recall (24HDR) and a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ), respectively. Serum vitamin A concentrations were assessed with high-performance liquid chromatography. Based on 24HDR, 64.7% and 85.5% of lactating women did not consume the appropriate amount of fruits and vegetables, respectively. New mothers who adopt zuo yuezi behavior during the first month were negatively associated with fruit consumption. The median (25th to 75th) dietary vitamin A intake was 349.5 (202.5-591.4) μg RAE/day. Vegetable contributed 24.9% and fruit 4.8% of the dietary vitamin A intake. The median (25th to 75th) serum vitamin A concentration was 1.92 (1.61-2.30) μmol/L. 24HDR assessments of total fruit and vegetable consumption, and fruit consumption were positively associated with higher serum vitamin A concentrations, respectively (β = 0.200, 95%CI = 0.077, 0.323, p = .001; β = 0.241, 95%CI = 0.008, 0.474, p = .044). These positive associations were replicated in the SFFQ assessments (β = 0.102, 95%CI = 0.016, 0.188, p = .020; β = 0.215, 95%CI = 0.088, 0.341, p = .001). Chinese lactating women had inappropriate fruit and vegetable consumption. Fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with serum vitamin A concentrations.

Keywords: fruit; lactating women; serum vitamin A; vegetable; zuo yuezi.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Serum vitamin A [Median (25th, 75th)] in lactating women who achieved the recommended amount of fruit and vegetable. Note. (1) Based on the Chinese Balanced Dietary Pagoda for lactating women, fruit and vegetable intake should be within 200–400 g/day and 400–500 g/day, respectively. (2) Mann–Whitney U test
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Stratified analysis of association between fruit and vegetable consumption (g/day) based on 24HDR and serum vitamin A concentration (μmol/ml)
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Stratified analysis of association between fruit and vegetable consumption (g/day) based on SFFQ and serum vitamin A concentration (μmol/ml)
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Stratified analysis of association between vitamin A intake from fruit and vegetable (μg RAE/day) and serum vitamin A concentration (μmol/ml)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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