Associations between antenatal maternal diet and other health aspects with infant temperament in a large multiethnic cohort study: a path analysis approach

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the association of antenatal maternal dietary patterns (DPs) and other health aspects with infant temperament in a large multiethnic cohort, taking maternal personality and prenatal stress into account.

Design and methods: Using data from 3968 children born in 2009/2010 and their mothers from the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort, infant temperament was assessed at 9 months using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Very Short Form. Maternal antenatal diet and other health aspects were assessed antenatally. Maternal DPs (n=4) were derived using principal components analysis based on food intake reported on a 44-item food frequency questionnaire. Path analyses investigated factors associated with infant temperament, namely maternal personality, prenatal maternal stress, DPs and other health aspects, including potential inter-relations and mediating effects.

Results: Women who scored higher in the fusion DP (standardised beta (β)=0.05; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.09) and healthy DP (β=0.05; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.09), who exercised more (β=0.04; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.07), and who drank less alcohol (β=-0.05; 95% CI -0.08 to -0.02) were more likely to have infants with an overall less difficult temperament. Sex-specific differences were found in the associations between maternal DP and infant temperament. Maternal personality and prenatal stress were significantly associated with all dimensions of infant temperament. The strongest predictors for a more difficult temperament were prenatal stress (β=0.12; 95% CI 0.08 to 0.15) and the personality dimensions neuroticism (β=0.10; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.14) and extraversion (β=-0.09; 95% CI -0.12 to -0.06).

Conclusions: Associations of antenatal maternal diet and health aspects with infant temperament were statistically significant but small. While they should not be overinterpreted as being deterministic, the findings of this study support the link between maternal modifiable health-related behaviours and infant temperament outcomes.

Keywords: epidemiology; gynaecology; mental health; nutrition & dietetics; paediatrics.

Figure 1

Standardised estimates from final path analyses with each of the five infant temperament factors as major outcome, and maternal personality, stress, dietary patterns and other health aspects as explanatory variables, *p≤0.05, **p≤0.001, p>0.05 not shown. Analyses were adjusted for maternal age, maternal education, mothers’ ethnicity, area deprivation, household deprivation and parity. AR, Affiliation/Regulation; CFI, Comparative Fit Index; NEG, Negative Affectivity; OC, Orienting Capacity; PAS; Positive Affect Surgency; RMSEA, root mean square error of approximation; SRMR, standardised root mean square residual.