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A randomised controlled trial of consumption of dark chocolate in pregnancy to reduce pre‐eclampsia: Difficulties in recruitment, allocation and adherence
Author(s) -
Gnanendran Subashini,
Porrett Jemma,
Woods Cindy,
Buttrose Maryke,
Jukka Clare,
Hollins Jane,
Robson Stephen,
Costa Caroline
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/ajo.12694
Subject(s) - dark chocolate , eclampsia , randomized controlled trial , pregnancy , medicine , incidence (geometry) , obstetrics , psychology , surgery , chemistry , genetics , physics , food science , optics , biology
In 2013–2014 we undertook a randomised controlled trial ( RCT ) to determine whether the daily ingestion of dark chocolate during pregnancy could reduce the incidence of pre‐eclampsia in primigravidae. However, after two years we had not succeeded in recruiting more than 3.5% of the number of participants required to answer the research question, and the trial was halted. We also reviewed the literature on this topic and found it to be limited. We report here our findings and discuss the difficulties facing researchers in this area.