Peer-reviewed article
Role of maternal preconception nutrition on offspring growth and risk of stunting across the first 1000 days in Vietnam: A prospective cohort study
Melissa Fox Young, Phuong Hong Nguyen, Inés González-Casanova, O. Yaw Addo, Lan Mai Tran et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how a mother's nutritional status before pregnancy affects child growth and stunting in the first two years of life in Vietnam. Researchers followed 1,409 women and their children, measuring maternal height, weight and BMI before pregnancy, then tracking child growth. Mothers who were shorter (under 150 cm) or weighed less (under 43 kg) before pregnancy had children who were more likely to be stunted at age 2. The findings show that improving mothers' nutrition before they become pregnant could help prevent child stunting.
Key points
- One-third of women in the study had preconception height below 150 cm or weight below 43 kg
- Mothers with height < 150 cm had 1.85 times increased risk of having a stunted child at 2 years
- Mothers with weight < 43 kg had 1.35 times increased risk of child stunting at 2 years
- For each standard deviation increase in maternal height and weight, offspring height-for-age increased by 0.30 and 0.23 standard deviations respectively at 2 years
- Preconception maternal nutritional status was associated with better fetal growth and offspring growth at birth and 2 years
Limitations
This observational study cannot establish causation, only associations. The study was conducted in Vietnam and results may not be generalizable to other populations with different nutritional contexts or genetic backgrounds.
Abstract
Growing evidence supports the role of preconception maternal nutritional status (PMNS) on birth outcomes; however, evidence of relationships with child growth are limited. We examined associations between PMNS (height, weight and body mass index- BMI) and offspring growth during the first 1000 days. We used prospective cohort data from a randomized-controlled trial of preconception micronutrient supplementation in Vietnam, PRECONCEPT (n = 1409). Poisson regression models were used to examine associations between PMNS and risk of offspring stunting (<-2 HAZ) at 2 years. We used path analytic models to examine associations with PMNS on fetal growth (ultrasound measurements) and offspring HAZ at birth and 2 years. All models were adjusted for child age, sex, gestational weight gain, education, socioeconomic status and treatment group. A third of women had a preconception height < 150cm or weight < 43 kg. Women with preconception height < 150 cm or a weight < 43 kg were at increased risk of having a stunted child at 2 years (incident risk ratio IRR: 1.85, 95% CI 1.51-2.28; IRR 1.35, 95% CI 1.10-1.65, respectively). While the traditional low BMI cut-off (< 18.5 kg/m2) was not significant, lower BMI cut-offs (< 17.5 kg/m2 or < 18.0 kg/m2) were significantly associated with 1.3 times increased risk of child stunting. In path models, PMNS were positively associated with fetal growth (ultrasound measurements) and offspring HAZ at birth and 2 years. For each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in maternal height and weight, offspring HAZ at 2 years increased by 0.30 SD and 0.23 SD, respectively. In conclusion, PMNS influences both offspring linear growth and risk of stunting across the first 1000 days. These findings underscore the importance of expanding the scope of current policies and strategies to include the preconception period in order to reduce child stunting.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Improving maternal preconception nutritional status (height, weight, BMI)
- Population
- 1,409 women and their offspring in Vietnam, participants in a randomized-controlled trial of preconception micronutrient supplementation
Key finding
Maternal height < 150 cm associated with 1.85 times increased risk of child stunting at 2 years (95% CI 1.51-2.28)