title: Prenatal vitamin A supplementation associated with adverse child behavior at 3 years in a prospective birth cohort in Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many pregnant women take vitamin supplements during pregnancy. The aim of this paper was to clarify the effects of dietary supplementation prior to and/or during pregnancy on child behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective birth cohort study from pregnancy to 3 years of age involving 1271 pairs of Japanese pregnant women and their newborns, was carried out. The women completed a self-administered questionnaire during the third trimester of pregnancy. To evaluate deviations in child behavior as an endpoint, each mother completed the Japanese Child Behavior Checklist for ages 2-3 years after 3 years of birth. Participant characteristics were compared between supplement takers and non-takers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among many kinds of supplements, intake of supplemental vitamin A/β-carotene prior to and/or during pregnancy was associated with hazardous effects on child behavior at 3 years of age (total t-score, P = 0.003; internal t-score, P = 0.027; external t-score, P = 0.013). This association held true even after adjusting for age, number of deliveries, infertility treatment, consumption of fast food, smoking status, maternal and paternal education, maternal and paternal income, gestational age at birth, anthropometry at birth (weight, height, head circumference and body circumference), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory at 3 years of age by means of multiple imputation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intake of supplemental vitamin A prior to and/or during pregnancy may worsen child behavior at 3 years of age.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. yohei.ishi@gmail.com.|St Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. yohei.ishi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Haruka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.|St Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Taisuke
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akutsu
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koide
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan.
authors.forename: Mio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Sado General Hospital, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okazaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ida
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Pediatrics, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuyoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Urashima
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000009:adverse effects; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D014801:Vitamin A
keywords: birth cohort; child behavior check list; dietary supplement; multiple linear regression model; vitamin A