%0 Journal Article
%T Does the impact of a plant-based diet during pregnancy on birth weight differ by ethnicity? A dietary pattern analysis from a prospective Canadian birth cohort alliance
%A Allan B Becker
%A Diana L Lefebvre
%A Dipika Desai
%A Gita Wahi
%A Joseph Beyene
%A Julie Wilson
%A Katherine M Morrison
%A Koon K Teo
%A Malcolm R Sears
%A Mateen Shaikh
%A Michael A Zulyniak
%A Milan Gupta
%A Padmaja Subbarao
%A Piush Mandhane
%A Russell J de Souza
%A Sarah McDonald
%A Sonia S Anand
%A Stephanie Atkinson
%A Stuart E Turvey
%J -
%D 2017
%R 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017753
%X Objective Birth weight is an indicator of newborn health and a strong predictor of health outcomes in later life. Significant variation in diet during pregnancy between ethnic groups in high-income countries provides an ideal opportunity to investigate the influence of maternal diet on birth weight.

Setting Four multiethnic birth cohorts based in Canada (the NutriGen Alliance).

Participants 3997 full-term mother¨Cinfant pairs of diverse ethnic groups who had principal component analysis-derived diet pattern scores¡ªplant-based, Western and health-conscious¡ªand birth weight data.

Results No associations were identified between the Western and health-conscious diet patterns and birth weight; however, the plant-based dietary pattern was inversely associated with birth weight (¦Â=£¿67.6£¿g per 1-unit increase; P<0.001), and an interaction with non-white ethnicity and birth weight was observed. Ethnically stratified analyses demonstrated that among white Europeans, maternal consumption of a plant-based diet associated with lower birth weight (¦Â=£¿65.9£¿g per 1-unit increase; P<0.001), increased risk of small-for-gestational age (SGA; OR=1.46; 95%£¿CI 1.08 to 1.54;P=0.005) and reduced risk of large-for-gestational age (LGA; OR=0.71; 95%£¿CI 0.53 to 0.95;P=0.02). Among South Asians, maternal consumption of a plant-based diet associated with a higher birth weight (¦Â=+40.5£¿g per 1-unit increase; P=0.01), partially explained by cooked vegetable consumption.

Conclusions Maternal consumption of a plant-based diet during pregnancy is associated with birth weight. Among white Europeans, a plant-based diet is associated with lower birth weight, reduced odds of an infant born LGA and increased odds of SGA, whereas among South Asians living in Canada, a plant-based diet is associated with increased birth weight
%U https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/11/e017753