Peri-conception maternal lipid profiles predict pregnancy outcomes

Abstract

In this study, healthy women and those at high-risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction, gestational diabetes) were selected to assess the effect of fatty acid supplementation. The purpose of this paper is to report two novel findings (i) at recruitment the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) for erythrocyte oleic acid predicted spontaneous delivery at 34 weeks gestation (ROC=0.926 n=296) for all women entering the study. Further analysis revealed oleic and all monounsaturated fatty acids were similarly predictive with or without a supplement during the pregnancy. (ii) At delivery, we observed a biomagnification of saturated fatty acids from mother to fetus with the reverse for monounsaturates. The major conclusions are (i) the status of the mother in the months prior to conception is a stronger predictor of preterm delivery than the events during the pregnancy. (ii) Saturated fats may be playing an important function in supporting fetal membrane growth.

Low omega-3 index values and monounsaturated fatty acid levels in early pregnancy: an analysis of maternal erythrocytes fatty acids

“…Since no established cutoff values exist for fatty acid status in pregnant women, erythrocyte fatty acid concentrations were compared to the reference values provided by the laboratory and to those of the few studies which reported maternal erythrocyte fatty acid levels early in the pregnancy [ 39 , 47 – 49 ]. Overall, Belgian pregnant women exhibited similar mean fatty acid concentrations, except for myristic acid and the three measured MUFA.…”

“…Two recent studies investigated the relationships between erythrocyte MUFA during first trimester of pregnancy and birth outcomes. While one have observed that oleic acid and MUFA predicted low birthweight [ 49 ], the other found no association between MUFA and birth outcome measures (birth weight, birth length, head circumference and chest circumference at birth) [ 51 ]. It is worth noting that mean MUFA levels of the second study were similar to those of our study, in contrast to the first which were higher.…”

“…When this threshold was applied to our results, 112 women (91.8%) exhibited a low long-chain omega-3 fatty acid status. With regard to pregnancy and birth outcomes, omega-3 index has been associated with the risk of post-partum depression [ 64 ] and low birthweight and preterm delivery [ 49 , 65 ]. Additional trials are required to clarify if this threshold of ≥8% could also ensure optimal maternal health as well as fetal growth and development.…”

Low serum fatty acid levels in pregnancies with fetal gastroschisis: A prospective study

“…The body compensates for low PUFA (ω‐3 and ω‐6) levels by increasing the endogenous production of oleic acids (MUFAs) to ensure that the composition and function of the cell membrane remain normal (Ogundipe, Johnson, Wang, & Crawford, ). Jones et al () found that oleic acid levels are low in pregnant women with fetuses with gastroschisis, similar to the findings of our study.…”

An abundance of seafood consumption studies presents new opportunities to evaluate effects on neurocognitive development

“…Seafood studies more likely reflect habitual diets 5 [34]. Consumption prior to conception may be important for neurocognitive development [35]. Nonetheless, results of the omega-3 supplementation RCTs during pregnancy at least raise the possibility that the beneficial effects seen in the seafood studies are not solely attributable to omega-3 fatty acids.…”