Association Between Maternal Diet and Frequency of Micronuclei in Mothers and Newborns: A Systematic Review
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Eligibility Criteria
2.2. Search Strategy
2.3. Selection of Studies
2.4. Data Synthesis and Analyses
2.5. Assessment of Risk of Bias
3. Results
3.1. Selection of Studies
3.2. Characteristics of Observational Studies
3.3. Frequency of Baseline MN in Pregnant Women and Newborns
3.3.1. Method for Measuring MN Frequency
3.3.2. Maternal Diet Assessment
3.3.3. Statistical Analysis
3.4. Effect of Diet on the Frequency of Micronuclei
3.4.1. Pregnant Women
3.4.2. Newborns
3.5. Methodological Quality of Studies
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Author (year) | Study Design | Country | Total Number | MN Frequency (‰) | MN Quantification Method | Analyzed Dietary Component | Statistical Method | Main Results | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pregnant Women | Newborns | Pregnant Women | Newborns | |||||||
Loock et al. (2014) [25] | Cohort | United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, Greece, Denmark | 625 | - | 2.53 (2.06) b | - | CBMN | Macronutrients: fat (omega-3 and -6). | ANOVA, t test, Kruskal–Wallis, negative binomial regression, and estimated incidence rate (IRR; p value). | In pregnant women, consuming a diet with adequate omega-3 reduces (↓) the frequency of MN by up to 3% (IRR = 0.97; p = 0.047), and the consumption of 6 reduced the frequency of maternal MN by 6% (IRR = 0.94; 0.047). |
O’Callanghan-Gordo et al. (2015) [26] | Cohort | Greece | 181 | 183 | 2.63 (2.53) a | 1.48 (1.83) a | CBMN | Food groups: fruits and vegetables; micronutrients: vitamin C. | Negative binomial regression, relative risk and 95% confidence interval [RR(95% CI)]. | Reduced (↓) vitamin C intake shows increased (↑) frequency of MN when associated with other environmental factors [RR = 9.35 (2.77–31.61)]. |
O’Callanghan-Gordo et al. (2017) [27] | Cohort | Greece | 173 | 171 | 2.41 (2.48) a | 1.44 (1.58) a | CBMN | Micronutrients: Vitamin D. | Negative binomial regression, estimated incidence rates (IRR), and 95% confidence intervals. | Reduced (↓) maternal vitamin D intake increased (↑) the frequency of MN in the umbilical cord blood of newborns [mean tertile IRR = 1.51 (1.06–2.14)]. |
O’Callanghan-Gordo et al. (2018) [28] | Cohort | Greece | 188 | 200 | 2.39 (2.42) a | 1.52 (1.65) a | CBMN | Food groups: fruits, vegetables, red meats, processed meats. | Negative binomial regression, estimated incidence rates (IRR), and 95% confidence intervals. | Increased (↑) of red meat consumption was associated with ↑ frequency of MN in newborns [2nd tertile IRR = 1.34 (1.00, 1.80); 3rd tertile IRR = 1.33 (0.96–1.85)]. |
Pedersen et al. (2012) [29] | Cross-sectional | Denmark | 69 | 54 | 6.97 (2.89–13.73) a | 3.16 (0.00–7.12) a | CBMN | Food groups: cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, red meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, potatoes; macronutrients: energy, fiber, carbohydrates, protein, and fat. | Wilcoxon and negative binomial regression, and 95% confidence interval (β; 95% CI). | No association was observed between newborns of women who consumed fried meat increased (↑) and the frequency of MN, but with other types of DNA damage (β = 0.46; 0.08, 0.84). |
Author (Year) | Pregnant Women | Newborns | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adequate Diet | Inadequate Diet | Adequate Diet | Inadequate Diet | ||||||||||
Assessed Dietary Components | n | MN | n | MN | Relative Risk(95% CI) | Effect on the Frequency of MN | n | MN | n | MN | Relative Risk(95% CI) | Effect on the Frequency of MN | |
O’Callanghan-Gordo et al. (2015) a [26] | Fruits and/or vegetables | 41 | 2.9 | 40 | 3.0 | - | No effect | 47 | 1.5 | 41 | 1.1 | - | No effect |
O’Callanghan-Gordo et al. (2018) [28] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
Pedersen et al. 2012 b [29] | Red meat | 38 | - | 52 | - | −0.2 (−0.4 to 0.0) | No effect | 38 | 4 | 54 | 3 | 0.3 (−0.0 to 0.7) b | No effect |
O’Callanghan-Gordo et al. (2018) c [28] | 41 | 1.4 (1.02, 1.92) | 40 | 1.47 (1.01, 2.15) * | Inadequate diet led to an increase. | 46 | 0.85 (0.6, 1.2) | 46 | 0.91 (0.64, 1.3) | Adequate diet led to a reduction. | |||
O’Callanghan-Gordo et al. (2018) c [28] | Processed meat | 34 | 0.89 (0.64, 1.22) | 39 | 0.99 (0.72, 1.37) | No effect | 43 | 1.46 (0.94, 2.26) d | 46 | 1.69 (1.06, 2.68)d* | Inadequate diet led to an increase. | ||
Loock et al. (2014) [25] | Fats (omega-3) | - | - | - | - | 0.97 * | Adequate diet led to a reduction. | NA | NA | NA | NA | ||
Fats (omega-6) | - | - | - | - | 0.94 * | Adequate diet led to a reduction. | NA | NA | NA | NA | |||
Pedersen et al. (2012) b [29] | Total fat | - | - | - | - | −0.1 (−0.4 to 0.2) | No effect | - | - | - | - | 0.0 (−0.5 to 0.5) | No effect |
Carbohydrates | - | - | - | - | −0.1 (−0.2 to 0.1) | No effect | - | - | - | - | 0.1 (−0.3 to 0.6) | No effect | |
Protein | - | - | - | - | 0.1 (−0.1 to 0.4) | No effect | - | - | - | - | 0.1 (−0.4 to 0.5) | No effect | |
O’Callanghan-Gordo et al. (2015) a [26] | Vitamin C | 69 | 2.4 | 20 | 2.4 | - | No effect | 22 | 1.1 | 62 | 1.4 | - | No effect |
O’Callanghan-Gordo et al. (2017) [27] | Vitamin D | 42 | 1 | 50 | 0.96 c | 0.94 (0.67, 1.32) d | No effect | 43 | 1 | 45 | 1.14 c | 1.51 (1.06, 2.14) d* | Inadequate diet led to an increase. |
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Araújo, A.C.d.; Nascimento, P.K.d.S.B.d.; Medeiros, M.C.S.d.; Bortolin, R.H.; Cobucci, R.N.; Rezende, A.A.d. Association Between Maternal Diet and Frequency of Micronuclei in Mothers and Newborns: A Systematic Review. Nutrients 2025, 17, 2535. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152535
Araújo ACd, Nascimento PKdSBd, Medeiros MCSd, Bortolin RH, Cobucci RN, Rezende AAd. Association Between Maternal Diet and Frequency of Micronuclei in Mothers and Newborns: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2025; 17(15):2535. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152535
Chicago/Turabian StyleAraújo, Anny Cristine de, Priscila Kelly da Silva Bezerra do Nascimento, Marília Cristina Santos de Medeiros, Raul Hernandes Bortolin, Ricardo Ney Cobucci, and Adriana Augusto de Rezende. 2025. "Association Between Maternal Diet and Frequency of Micronuclei in Mothers and Newborns: A Systematic Review" Nutrients 17, no. 15: 2535. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152535
APA StyleAraújo, A. C. d., Nascimento, P. K. d. S. B. d., Medeiros, M. C. S. d., Bortolin, R. H., Cobucci, R. N., & Rezende, A. A. d. (2025). Association Between Maternal Diet and Frequency of Micronuclei in Mothers and Newborns: A Systematic Review. Nutrients, 17(15), 2535. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152535