Intake of probiotic food and risk of spontaneous preterm delivery

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 93; no. 1; pp. 151 - 157
• Main Authors: Myhre, Ronny, Brantsæter, Anne Lise, Myking, Solveig, Gjessing, Håkon Kristian, Sengpiel, Verena, Meltzer, Helle Margrete, Haugen, Margaretha, Jacobsson, Bo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD American Society for Clinical Nutrition 2011; American Society for Nutrition; American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc
• Subjects: administration & dosage; animal pathogens; Biological and medical sciences; Cohort Studies; Dairy Products; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; food choices; food frequency questionnaires; food intake; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Lactobacillus; maternal nutrition; Milk; Mothers; Newborn; Obstetric Labor; Obstetric Labor, Premature - prevention & control; Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine; Perinatal care; Pregnancy; pregnancy complications; Premature; Premature birth; prevention & control; Probiotics; Probiotics - administration & dosage; protective effect; Questionnaires; Reproduktionsmedicin och gynekologi; Risk; risk assessment; Risk factors; risk reduction; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; women; Norway; Human; Probiotic; Premature delivery; Pregnancy disorders; Food intake; Risk factor
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.110.004085

BACKGROUND: Preterm delivery represents a substantial problem in perinatal medicine worldwide. Current knowledge on potential influences of probiotics in food on pregnancy complications caused by microbes is limited. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that intake of food with probiotics might reduce pregnancy complications caused by pathogenic microorganisms and, through this, reduce the risk of spontaneous preterm delivery. DESIGN: This study was performed in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort on the basis of answers to a food-frequency questionnaire. We studied intake of milk-based products containing probiotic lactobacilli and spontaneous preterm delivery by using a prospective cohort study design (n = 950 cases and 17,938 controls) for the pregnancy outcome of spontaneous preterm delivery (<37 gestational weeks). Analyses were adjusted for the covariates of parity, maternal educational level, and physical activity. RESULTS: Pregnancies that resulted in spontaneous preterm delivery were associated with any intake of milk-based probiotic products in an adjusted model [odds ratio (OR): 0.857; 95% CI: 0.741, 0.992]. By categorizing intake into none, low, and high intakes of the milk-based probiotic products, a significant association was observed for high intake (OR: 0.820; 95% CI: 0.681, 0.986). CONCLUSION: Women who reported habitual intake of probiotic dairy products had a reduced risk of spontaneous preterm delivery.