Maternal active asthma in pregnancy influences associations between polyunsaturated fatty acid intake and child asthma.

BACKGROUND: Studies evaluating effects of prenatal polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake on childhood asthma reveal mixed results. Inconsistencies may result from not accounting for important modifying factors such as maternal asthma or child sex. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether associations between prenatal PUFA intake and childhood asthma are modified by prenatal active maternal asthma or child sex in 412 mother-child dyads. METHODS: Energy-adjusted prenatal dietary and supplement intakes of omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) PUFAs were estimated using the Block98 Food Frequency Questionnaire, administered during pregnancy. Mothers reported asthma in children followed prospectively to 4.0 plus or minus 1.7 years. Generalized additive models with smooth terms for PUFA (n-3, n-6, n-6/n-3 ratio) effects were used to investigate associations between PUFAs and child asthma, without prespecifying the form of these relationships, including effect modification by active maternal asthma or child sex. RESULTS: Among mothers (40% Black, 31% Hispanic), 22% had active asthma in pregnancy; 17.5% of children developed asthma. Lower maternal n-3 PUFA intake was significantly associated with risk of childhood asthma (P = .03), in particular among children of mothers with active asthma and low n-3 PUFA intake (P = .01). This inverse association was more apparent in girls (P = .01) compared with boys (P = .30), regardless of maternal asthma status. For n-6 PUFA and the n-6/n-3 ratio, there was a lower risk of childhood asthma in the midrange of intake and increased risk at higher intake (n-6 PUFA P = .10, n-6/n-3 ratio P = .13). CONCLUSION: Consideration of factors that modify effects of prenatal PUFA intake on childhood asthma has implications for designing intervention strategies tailored to impact those at greatest risk.

Sisters Together: Lessons Learned from Implementing a Grocery Store Campaign in Michigan Communities at Risk for Neural Tube Defects.

BACKGROUND: Sisters Together intended to develop and disseminate folic acid (FA) educational materials through a point-of-purchase program in low-income predominantly African American communities in Southeastern Michigan counties with high prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs). METHODS: Guided by the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Consumer Information Processing Model, 17 supermarkets hosted displays, shelf-signs, and food tastings and tracked purchases of FA sources, alongside customer-intercept and store manager surveys, and observational logs. RESULTS: Stocking and signage were implemented with moderate-to-high fidelity, and food tastings with high reach and dose. Purchases of black beans, spinach, orange juice, and supplements showed increases, although only a third of the women identified them as sources of FA. Only 21/122 women (17%) surveyed reported seeing the shelf-signs. CONCLUSIONS: Theory-driven, grocery store-centric interventions are effective strategies to address gaps in FA education, with the key behavior change mechanism appearing to be modeling "procedural knowledge."

Validation of a Food Frequency Questionnaire for Estimating Micronutrient Intakes in an Urban US Sample of Multi-Ethnic Pregnant Women.

OBJECTIVE(S): To validate the Block98 food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for estimating antioxidant, methyl-nutrient and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) intakes in a pregnant sample of ethnic/racial minority women in the United States (US). METHODS: Participants (n = 42) were from the Programming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms study. Total micronutrient intakes from food and supplements was ascertained using the modified Block98 FFQ and two 24-h dietary recalls collected at random on nonconsecutive days subsequent to completion of the FFQ in mid-pregnancy. Correlation coefficients (r) corrected for attenuation from within-person variation in the recalls were calculated for antioxidants (n = 7), methyl-nutrients (n = 8), and PUFAs (n = 2). RESULT(S): The sample was largely ethnic minorities (38 % Black, 33 % Hispanic) with 21 % being foreign born and 41 % having less than or equal to a high school degree. Significant and adequate deattenuated correlations (r ≥ 0.40) for total dietary intakes of antioxidants were observed for vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc. Reasonable deattenuated correlations were also observed for methyl-nutrient intakes of vitamin B6, betaine, iron, and n:6 PUFAs; however, they did not reach significance. Most women were classified into the same or adjacent quartiles (≥70 %) for total (dietary + supplements) estimates of antioxidants (5 out of 7) and methyl-nutrients (4 out of 5). CONCLUSIONS: The Block98 FFQ is an appropriate dietary method for evaluating antioxidants in pregnant ethnic/minorities in the US; it may be less efficient in measuring methyl-nutrient and PUFA intakes.