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Lipid‐based nutrient supplement for pregnant women improve birth outcomes among primiparous but not multiparous women in Ghana (256.7)
Author(s) -
AduAfarwuah Seth,
Lartey Anna,
Okronipa Harriet,
Peerson Janet,
Vosti Stephen,
Ashorn Per,
Dewey Kathryn
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.256.7
Subject(s) - medicine , micronutrient , birth weight , low birth weight , pregnancy , obstetrics , randomized controlled trial , incidence (geometry) , gestational age , gynecology , biology , physics , pathology , optics , genetics
Nutrient deficiencies are common among pregnant women in low‐income countries. The iLiNS Project developed a small‐quantity lipid‐based nutrient supplement (LNS, 20 g/d, 118 kcal) for pregnant and lactating women, to enrich local diets with essential fatty acids, high‐quality protein and 22 micronutrients. In a randomized, partially double‐blind, controlled trial in Ghana, pregnant women were randomized to receive daily: a) iron & folic acid (IFA), (b) capsules with 18 micronutrients (MMN) or c) LNS. Newborns were generally measured within 48 h of birth. In the full sample (n=930), groups did not differ significantly in birth outcomes (0.063蠄p蠄0.087 for birth weight and head circumference; otherwise p>0.10). Primiparity was a significant effect modifier: among multiparas (who had a low incidence of low birth weight ≍7.5%), groups did not differ, but among primiparas, infants in the LNS group had greater birth weight (+200 g), z‐scores for birth length (+0.48) and head circumference (+0.40), and lower risk for low birth weight and small‐for‐gestational age (RR (95% CI) = 0.32 (0.12, 0.63) and 0.49 (0.31, 0.72) , respectively) compared to those in the IFA group. Similar differences were observed for LNS vs. MMN but not IFA vs. MMN. We conclude that LNS can improve birth outcomes among sub‐groups at higher risk for fetal growth restriction, which in this sample were the primiparas. Grant Funding Source : Supported by a grant to the University of California, Davis from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation