The association between periconceptual maternal dietary patterns and miscarriage risk in women with recurrent miscarriages: a multicentre cohort study

Abstract

Abstract In a prospective multicentre cohort study across three UK university hospital research centres, we evaluated the association between periconceptual maternal dietary patterns and miscarriage risk among 1,035 women with recurrent miscarriages. Recurrent miscarriage was defined as 2 or more spontaneous pregnancy losses before 24 weeks. We used a 10-item Food Frequency Questionnaire and the analysis adjusted for maternal confounders and paternal dietary patterns. High consumption of fruit and nuts (almonds and walnuts) was strongly associated with lower miscarriage risk (for fruit the relative risk [RR] was 0.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54 to 0.89, p = 0.004; for nuts RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.98, p = 0.039). High red meat intake was associated with an 86% increase in miscarriage risk (RR 1.86, 95% CI 1.10 to 3.16, p = 0.022). The association with miscarriage risk was unclear for other food groups, including fresh vegetables, white meat, fish, dairy, eggs, soya, and chocolate, due to imprecise point estimates. This study concludes that a maternal diet rich in fruits and nuts, but low in red meat, is associated with a lower miscarriage risk in women with a history of recurrent miscarriages.