Maternal Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Status, Methylmercury Exposure, and Birth Outcomes in a High-Fish-Eating Mother-Child Cohort.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Maternal status of long-chain PUFAs (LC-PUFAs) may be related to fetal growth. Maternal fish consumption exposes the mother to the neurotoxicant methylmercury (MeHg), which, in contrast, may restrict fetal growth.

Objective

Our aim was to examine relations between maternal LC-PUFA status at 28 wk and birth outcomes (birth weight, length, and head circumference), controlling for MeHg exposure throughout pregnancy, in the Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 2. Our secondary aim was to examine the influence of maternal variation in genes regulating the desaturation of LC-PUFAs [fatty acid desaturase (FADS)] on birth outcomes.

Methods

From nonfasting blood samples collected at 28 wk of gestation, we measured serum total LC-PUFA concentrations an

SUBMITTER: Yeates AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7330473 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature