. 2024 Feb 27;27(1):e94.

doi: 10.1017/S136898002400051X.

Demographic and health characteristics associated with fish and n-3 fatty acid supplement intake during pregnancy: results from pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO programme

Emily Oken¹, Rashelle J Musci², Matthew Westlake³, Kennedy Gachigi⁴, Judy L Aschner^{5

6}, Kathrine L Barnes⁷, Theresa M Bastain⁸, Claudia Buss^{9

10}, Carlos A Camargo Jr¹¹, Jose F Cordero¹², Dana Dabelea¹³, Anne L Dunlop¹⁴, Akhgar Ghassabian¹⁵, Alison E Hipwell¹⁶, Christine W Hockett¹⁷, Margaret R Karagas¹⁸, Claudia Lugo-Candelas¹⁹, Amy E Margolis²⁰, Thomas G O'Connor²¹, Coral L Shuster²², Jennifer K Straughen²³, Kristen Lyall²⁴; program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes

Affiliations

¹ Division of Chronic Disease research across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, 401 Park Drive, Suite 401 East, Boston, MA, USA.
² Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ RTI International, Raleigh, NC, USA.
⁴ Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ, USA.
⁶ Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
⁷ Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Marshfield, WI, USA.
⁸ Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Medical Psychology, Charité University of Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹⁰ Development, Health, Disease Research Program, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
¹¹ Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
¹² Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
¹³ Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Pediatrics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
¹⁷ Avera Research Institute, Sioux Falls, SD, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.
¹⁹ New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
²⁰ Columbia University Irving Medical center, New York, NY, USA.
²¹ Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Neuroscience, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
²² Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
²³ Department of Public Health Sciences, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA.
²⁴ AJ Drexel Autism Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

PMID: 38410088
PMCID: PMC10993063
DOI: 10.1017/S136898002400051X

Demographic and health characteristics associated with fish and n-3 fatty acid supplement intake during pregnancy: results from pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO programme

Emily Oken et al. Public Health Nutr. 2024.

. 2024 Feb 27;27(1):e94.

doi: 10.1017/S136898002400051X.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Chronic Disease research across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, 401 Park Drive, Suite 401 East, Boston, MA, USA.
² Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ RTI International, Raleigh, NC, USA.
⁴ Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ, USA.
⁶ Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
⁷ Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Marshfield, WI, USA.
⁸ Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Medical Psychology, Charité University of Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹⁰ Development, Health, Disease Research Program, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
¹¹ Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
¹² Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
¹³ Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Pediatrics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
¹⁷ Avera Research Institute, Sioux Falls, SD, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.
¹⁹ New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
²⁰ Columbia University Irving Medical center, New York, NY, USA.
²¹ Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Neuroscience, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
²² Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
²³ Department of Public Health Sciences, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA.
²⁴ AJ Drexel Autism Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

PMID: 38410088
PMCID: PMC10993063
DOI: 10.1017/S136898002400051X

Abstract

Objective: n-3 fatty acid consumption during pregnancy is recommended for optimal pregnancy outcomes and offspring health. We examined characteristics associated with self-reported fish or n-3 supplement intake.

Design: Pooled pregnancy cohort studies.

Setting: Cohorts participating in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium with births from 1999 to 2020.

Participants: A total of 10 800 pregnant women in twenty-three cohorts with food frequency data on fish consumption; 12 646 from thirty-five cohorts with information on supplement use.

Results: Overall, 24·6 % reported consuming fish never or less than once per month, 40·1 % less than once a week, 22·1 % 1-2 times per week and 13·2 % more than twice per week. The relative risk (RR) of ever (v. never) consuming fish was higher in participants who were older (1·14, 95 % CI 1·10, 1·18 for 35-40 v. <29 years), were other than non-Hispanic White (1·13, 95 % CI 1·08, 1·18 for non-Hispanic Black; 1·05, 95 % CI 1·01, 1·10 for non-Hispanic Asian; 1·06, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·10 for Hispanic) or used tobacco (1·04, 95 % CI 1·01, 1·08). The RR was lower in those with overweight v. healthy weight (0·97, 95 % CI 0·95, 1·0). Only 16·2 % reported n-3 supplement use, which was more common among individuals with a higher age and education, a lower BMI, and fish consumption (RR 1·5, 95 % CI 1·23, 1·82 for twice-weekly v. never).

Conclusions: One-quarter of participants in this large nationwide dataset rarely or never consumed fish during pregnancy, and n-3 supplement use was uncommon, even among those who did not consume fish.

Keywords: DHA; Fish; Pregnancy; n-3 fatty acid.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors reports a conflict of interest.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Likelihood of n-3 polyunsaturated supplement use in pregnancy according to fish consumption during pregnancy within the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohort

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Demographic and health characteristics associated with fish and n-3 fatty acid supplement intake during pregnancy: results from pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO programme

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Demographic and health characteristics associated with fish and n-3 fatty acid supplement intake during pregnancy: results from pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO programme

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