title: Intake of probiotic food and risk of spontaneous preterm delivery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preterm delivery represents a substantial problem in perinatal medicine worldwide. Current knowledge on potential influences of probiotics in food on pregnancy complications caused by microbes is limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We hypothesized that intake of food with probiotics might reduce pregnancy complications caused by pathogenic microorganisms and, through this, reduce the risk of spontaneous preterm delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was performed in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort on the basis of answers to a food-frequency questionnaire. We studied intake of milk-based products containing probiotic lactobacilli and spontaneous preterm delivery by using a prospective cohort study design (n = 950 cases and 17,938 controls) for the pregnancy outcome of spontaneous preterm delivery (< 37 gestational weeks). Analyses were adjusted for the covariates of parity, maternal educational level, and physical activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pregnancies that resulted in spontaneous preterm delivery were associated with any intake of milk-based probiotic products in an adjusted model [odds ratio (OR): 0.857; 95% CI: 0.741, 0.992]. By categorizing intake into none, low, and high intakes of the milk-based probiotic products, a significant association was observed for high intake (OR: 0.820; 95% CI: 0.681, 0.986).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women who reported habitual intake of probiotic dairy products had a reduced risk of spontaneous preterm delivery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genes and Environment, Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. ronny.myhre@fhi.no
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Myhre
authors.forename: Anne Lise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Brantsæter
authors.forename: Solveig
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Myking
authors.forename: Håkon Kristian
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Gjessing
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sengpiel
authors.forename: Helle Margrete
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Meltzer
authors.forename: Margaretha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haugen
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jacobsson
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D003611:Dairy Products; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D019936:Probiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires