Identifying women who may benefit from higher dose omega-3 supplementation during pregnancy to reduce their risk of prematurity: exploratory analyses from the ORIP trial.

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2023

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Yelland, L.N.
Sullivan, T.R.
Gibson, R.A.
Simmonds, L.A.
Thakkar, S.K.
Huang, F.
Devaraj, S.
Best, K.P.
Zolezzi, I.S.
Makrides, M.

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BMJ Open, 2023; 13(4):e070220-e070220

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Lisa N Yelland, Thomas R Sullivan, Robert A Gibson, Lucy A Simmonds, Sagar K Thakkar, Fang Huang, Surabhi Devaraj, Karen P Best, Irma Silva Zolezzi, Maria Makrides

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The risk factors for prematurity are multifactorial and include low omega-3 status. Omega-3 supplementation in pregnancy has been found to reduce prematurity risk, particularly among women with low omega-3 levels. This study aimed to identify maternal characteristics that predict whether women with a singleton pregnancy will benefit from omega-3 supplementation to reduce their risk of prematurity. DESIGN: Exploratory analyses of a multicentre, double-blind randomised trial. SETTING: 6 tertiary care centres in four states in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: 5328 singleton pregnancies in 5305 women recruited before 20 weeks of gestation. INTERVENTIONS: Fish oil capsules containing 900 mg omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids per day versus vegetable oil capsules consumed from enrolment until 34 weeks' gestation. OUTCOME MEASURES: Early preterm birth (EPTB, <34 weeks' gestation) and preterm birth (PTB, <37 weeks' gestation) analysed using logistic regression models with interactions between treatment group and a range of maternal biological, clinical and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Omega-3 supplementation reduced the odds of EPTB for women with low total omega-3 status in early pregnancy (OR=0.30, 95% CI 0.10-0.93). No additional maternal characteristics influenced whether omega-3 supplementation reduced the odds of EPTB. For PTB, women were more likely to benefit from omega-3 supplementation if they were multiparous (OR=0.65, 95% CI 0.49-0.87) or avoided alcohol in the lead up to pregnancy (OR=0.62, 95% CI 0.45-0.86). CONCLUSIONS: Our results support previous findings that women with low total omega-3 levels in early pregnancy are most likely to benefit from taking omega-3 supplements to reduce their risk of EPTB. Understanding how other maternal characteristics influence the effectiveness of omega-3 supplementation on reducing PTB requires further investigation. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12613001142729.

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© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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