title: Association of maternal whole blood fatty acid status during the prenatal period with term birth dimensions: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate selected fatty acid (FA) profiles in maternal whole blood during normal pregnancy and to evaluate their associations with term birth dimensions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We characterized nine major maternal blood FAs representing four FA families during the second and third trimester of pregnancy, and explored their associations with birth weight, length, and chest or head circumferences by multivariate regression models, using data from 318 mother-newborn pairs of the Hokkaido Study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The absolute and/or relative contents of maternal blood docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid were lowest at 35-41 gestational weeks during pregnancy, as was the essential FA status index. Different from palmitic and stearic acids, palmitoleic and oleic acid contents were higher at 35-41 gestational weeks than those at 23-31 gestational weeks. Three FA components were identified through principal component analysis, and were used in association analysis. Component 3, which was positively and significantly loaded by eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), was associated with chest circumference [β=0.281, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.006, 0.556] at 35-41 gestational weeks (P=0.046). No significant associations were observed for Component 1 and 2 loaded by FAs except EPA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal blood EPA content may have an important influence on infant chest circumference.
authors.forename: Xiaofang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tagawa
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yatsuya
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Naito
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Husna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yetti
authors.forename: Seiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.forename: Chihiro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Miyashita
authors.forename: Tamiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikeno
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kishi
authors.forename: Tamie
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakajima
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D001827:Body Height; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second / Q000097:blood; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000097:blood; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D047929:Term Birth / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids