N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Status in Swiss Pregnant Women in Association with Antenatal Depressive Symptoms—A National Survey †
1
Department of Nutritional Sciences, King’s College London, London SE1 8WA, UK
2
Nutrition Research Unit, University Children’s Hospital Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
3
Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolic Epigenetics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the 14th European Nutrition Conference FENS 2023, Belgrade, Serbia, 14–17 November 2023.
Proceedings 2023, 91(1), 71; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091071
Published: 22 November 2023
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The 14th European Nutrition Conference FENS 2023)
Abstract
:Background and objectives: During pregnancy, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) requirements increase in order to supply the needs of the growing and developing fetus. Furthermore, the risk of developing depressive symptoms increases during the perinatal period. n-3 PUFAs have been proposed to mitigate depressive symptoms. Little is known about the n-3 PUFA status of women in Switzerland. The objectives of this study were to assess the n-3 PUFA intake and status in Swiss pregnant women and to explore associations with antenatal depressive symptoms. Methods: This study formed part of the Swiss National Iodine Survey conducted in pregnant women in 2020–2022. We determined the intake of n-3 PUFA using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire and determined n-3 PUFA status by measuring fatty acid composition (% of total fatty acids) in dried blood spots. We assessed antenatal depressive symptoms by using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Results: The mean n-3 index (converted to erythrocyte equivalents) in the final sample of 508 pregnant women (mean age 31.6 ± 4.3 years) was 4.59 ± 1.09. The n-3 index was higher in women taking an antenatal supplement containing n-3 PUFA (30%) than in their non-supplemented counterparts (4.93 ± 1.23% vs. 4.46 ± 0.99%, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the n-3 index was significantly higher in women who consumed fish ≥ 1×/week (22%) and 1–3×/month (43%) than in women who consumed fish < 1×/month (34%) (4.95 ± 1.10% and 4.70 ± 1.02% vs. 4.35 ± 1.15%). The median (IQR) EPDS score was 4 (4, 5), and 12% and 6% of women had an EPDS score ≥11 and ≥13, respectively. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) levels correlated negatively with EPDS scores (r = −0.105, p = 0.031), and were associated with lower odds of having an EPDS score ≥ 13, even after adjusting for potential confounders (OR = 0.02 [0.00–0.48]). Discussion: Our results indicate that Swiss pregnant women have a low n-3 PUFA status. Even though the n-3 PUFA status was higher in the women who reported taking a supplement containing n-3 PUFA or consumed fish ≥ 1×/week than in their respective counterparts, the n-3 PUFA status remained low in these groups. The association between the n-3 PUFA EPA and depressive symptoms further highlights the need for public health measures to optimize the n-3 PUFA status in Swiss pregnant women.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, J.B. and I.H.-A.; methodology, J.B., M.A. and I.H.-A.; data analysis, J.B. and I.H.-A.; investigation, I.H.-A.; data curation, J.B. and I.H.-A.; writing—original draft preparation, J.B.; writing—review and editing, J.B., M.A. and I.H.-A.; project administration, I.H.-A..; funding acquisition, I.H.-A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was funded by: Foundation for the encouragement of nutrition research in Switzerland (SFEFS).
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Cantonal Ethics Committee of Zurich (protocol code 2020-00192, approval received: 3 March 2020).
Informed Consent Statement
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement
Anonymized data can be made available upon approval of a request after publication of the primary and secondary outcomes.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Baumgartner, J.; Andersson, M.; Herter-Aeberli, I. N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Status in Swiss Pregnant Women in Association with Antenatal Depressive Symptoms—A National Survey. Proceedings 2023, 91, 71. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091071
AMA Style
Baumgartner J, Andersson M, Herter-Aeberli I. N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Status in Swiss Pregnant Women in Association with Antenatal Depressive Symptoms—A National Survey. Proceedings. 2023; 91(1):71. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091071
Chicago/Turabian StyleBaumgartner, Jeannine, Maria Andersson, and Isabelle Herter-Aeberli. 2023. "N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Status in Swiss Pregnant Women in Association with Antenatal Depressive Symptoms—A National Survey" Proceedings 91, no. 1: 71. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091071
