Organic food, pregnancy and health: Associations between consumption of organic food in pregnancy, maternal characteristics and pregnancy health outcomes in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)

Abstract

This thesis describes characteristics associated with consumption of organic food among pregnant women and the potential impact of organic food consumption on the risk of developing pre-eclampsia in the women, and hypospadias and cryptorchidism in their male babies. Analyses are based on data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) in years 2002-2008. The study population included pregnant women and their male babies. The mothers answered a food frequency questionnaire and a general health questionnaire during pregnancy. Health outcome data were obtained from the Norwegian Medical Birth Registry. Frequent consumption of organic food, which was reported by 9.1% of the study population, was associated with personal, socio-economic - and lifestyle characteristics, including distinct dietary patterns. These characteristics were used to control for confounding in the subsequent analyses of possible associations between organic food consumption in pregnancy and the studied health outcomes. Reported consumption of organic vegetables ‘often’ or ‘mostly’, but not organic fruit, cereals, eggs, milk or meat, was associated with lower risk of pre-eclampsia compared with less frequent consumption. Women who reported organic food consumption during pregnancy were less likely to give birth to a boy with hypospadias than women who reported never or seldom consuming organic food. Results for individual food groups showed that associations were strongest for consumption of organic vegetables and milk and dairy products. Findings were based on small numbers of cases, however, and require replication in other study populations. No substantial association was observed for consumption of organic food and cryptorchidism. Dietary recommendations encourage frequent intake of plant foods, including vegetables. The main conclusion from the studies in this thesis is that choosing organically grown vegetables may yield additional benefits.