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Nutrients
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The Importance of Nutrition in Fertility and Pregnancy
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The Importance of Nutrition in Fertility and Pregnancy

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition in Women".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 September 2025 | Viewed by 2493

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jufen Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Reproductive and Child Health/National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Interests: reproductive health; perinatal nutrition; social epidemiology; early life adversity; life course epidemiology; birth defects; disability; teratogenesis; development; neuroscience; maternal and fetal medicine; screenomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nutrition is fundamental to life, being especially critical from the early life, during pregnancy, and even far into the perinatal period. Nutrients, such as folic acid and other derivates, inositol, as well as other vitamins, are traditionally used as a supplement for improving fertility and for the prevention of embryonal neural tube defects. However, the health benefits of nutrients is far beyond these; as we have paid more attention to the offspring during this crucial period, the impact on women’s health is still less studied. We are pleased to invite you to submit your research to this Special Issue entitled “The Importance of Nutrition in Fertility and Pregnancy”.

This Issue is going to cover a broad range of topics related to reproductive health. Nutrition exposure could include the following: nutrition including vitamins such as folic acid, inositol, vitamin B12 choline and other vitamin B group vitamins (thiamine (vitamin B1), B6, etc.), vitamin D, vitamin C, micronutrient supplementation, and different diets. The outcomes could include both female and male fertility/infertility and related reproduction disorders, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, sex ratio at birth, and others. For pregnancy complications, these can include birth defects, preterm birth, miscarriage, postpartum disorders, such as depression, obstetric disorders, gestational metabolic diseases, and cardiovascular risk. The possible correlation of nutrients and drug use as well as infection in pregnancy could also be investigated. Besides descriptions of nutrition, reproductive health outcomes, and mechanisms, intervention strategies are also welcome. The overall goal of this Special Issue is to provide comprehensive, widespread, and updated evidence on recommendations for essential vitamins and diet models focused on improving reproductive health for both generations, including offspring and mothers. We hope health professionals, policymakers, researchers, teachers, students and general readers benefit from these latest studies and projects, cooperating to promote and develop more effective strategies to improve human health during this crucial period. 

Original research, which is encouraged, systematic reviews, and metanalyses are welcome for this Special Issue. I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jufen Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • vitamins
  • diets
  • infertility
  • reproduction disorders
  • pregnancy complications
  • obstetric disorders
  • adverse pregnancy outcomes
  • mental health
  • metabolic disease

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1075 KiB  
Article
Associations of Plasma Gut Microbiota-Derived TMAO and Precursors in Early Pregnancy with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Risk: A Nested Case-Control Study
by Yani Wu, He Bai, Ying Lu, Ruiheng Peng, Mingxia Qian, Xuchen Yang, Enmao Cai, Wenli Ruan, Qianlong Zhang, Jun Zhang, Liqiang Zheng and on behalf of the Shanghai Birth Cohort
Nutrients 2025, 17(5), 810; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050810 - 26 Feb 2025
Viewed by 520
Abstract
Objectives: Gut microbiota-derived metabolites—trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and its precursors choline, betaine, and carnitine—have been linked to various health outcomes. However, their role in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remains unclear due to inconsistent findings. This study aims to investigate the associations between maternal plasma [...] Read more.
Objectives: Gut microbiota-derived metabolites—trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and its precursors choline, betaine, and carnitine—have been linked to various health outcomes. However, their role in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remains unclear due to inconsistent findings. This study aims to investigate the associations between maternal plasma concentrations of these metabolites during early pregnancy and the risk of GDM. Methods: A nested case–control study was performed in the Shanghai Birth Cohort. GDM cases and non-GDM controls were matched according to maternal age at a ratio of 1:4. Three hundred twenty-one identified GDM cases and 1284 controls were included. Maternal plasma concentrations of TMAO and its precursors were measured between 12 and 16 weeks of gestation in early pregnancy using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Conditional logistic regression models were applied to assess associations between metabolite levels and GDM risk and to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multivariate linear regressions evaluated relationships between metabolite concentrations and glycemic indicators. Stratified and sensitivity analyses were conducted to ensure robustness. Results: Maternal plasma levels of TMAO, choline, betaine, and carnitine in early pregnancy were 1.95 μmol/L (IQR, 1.16–3.20), 9.25 μmol/L (IQR, 7.31–11.98), 20.51 μmol/L (IQR, 16.92–24.79), and 17.13 μmol/L (IQR, 13.33–21.16), respectively. Betaine and carnitine were significantly higher in GDM cases (p = 0.002 and p = 0.042, respectively). No significant associations were identified between TMAO levels and GDM risk and glycemic indicators. Each SD increase in choline was associated with a 16% higher GDM risk (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.34, p = 0.039), while increased betaine and carnitine levels were linked to a 19% (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.70, 0.95; p = 0.010) and 20% (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.69, 0.94; p = 0.007) lower risk, respectively. Restricted cubic spline models showed no evidence of non-linear relationships (pfor non-linearity > 0.05). Interaction analyses indicated that the protective effect of betaine may be more pronounced in parous women. Conclusions: Higher early pregnancy levels of betaine and carnitine were associated with a reduced GDM risk, while elevated choline levels increased the risk. The protective association between betaine and GDM was more pronounced in parous women. No significant relationship was found between TMAO and GDM. The roles of choline, betaine, and carnitine in glucose metabolism warrant further investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Importance of Nutrition in Fertility and Pregnancy)
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12 pages, 1443 KiB  
Article
Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization Analysis of Genetic Proxies of Plasma Fatty Acids and Pre-Eclampsia Risk
by Jingqi Zhou, Shuo Jiang, Dangyun Liu, Xinyi Li, Ziyi Zhou, Zhiheng Wang and Hui Wang
Nutrients 2024, 16(21), 3748; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16213748 - 31 Oct 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1376
Abstract
Background: Previous studies have reported associations between fatty acids and the risk of pre-eclampsia. However, the causality of these associations remains uncertain. This study postulates a causal relationship between specific plasma fatty acids and pre-eclampsia or other maternal hypertensive disorders (PE-HTPs). To test [...] Read more.
Background: Previous studies have reported associations between fatty acids and the risk of pre-eclampsia. However, the causality of these associations remains uncertain. This study postulates a causal relationship between specific plasma fatty acids and pre-eclampsia or other maternal hypertensive disorders (PE-HTPs). To test this hypothesis, two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were employed to determine the causality effects. Methods: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with PE-HTPs and fatty acids were obtained from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of European ancestry. Bidirectional MR analyses were conducted using methods such as inverse variance weighted, MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode. Sensitivity analyses, including tests for heterogeneity, horizontal pleiotropy, and co-localization, were conducted to assess the robustness of MR results. Results: The analyses revealed causal relationships between PE-HTPs and several fatty acids, including monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), omega-6 fatty acid (n-6 FA), linoleic acid (LA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and the PUFA/MUFA ratio. Genetically predicted higher risk of PE-HTPs was significantly associated with lower plasma n-6 FA (OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.93–0.99), particularly LA (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.98). Conversely, increased DHA (OR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.78–0.96) and a higher PUFA/MUFA ratio (OR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.76–0.98) were associated with a reduced risk of PE-HTPs. Elevated MUFA levels (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.00–1.25) were related to an increased risk. Conclusions: This study provides robust genetic evidence supporting bidirectional causal relationships between PE-HTPs and specific plasma fatty acids, underscoring the critical role of fatty acid metabolism in maternal hypertensive disorders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Importance of Nutrition in Fertility and Pregnancy)
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