Socio-economic and racial prenatal diet quality disparities in a national US sample
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
4-1-2020
Abstract
Objective: To examine differences in prenatal diet quality by socio-economic status (SES) and race/ethnicity.Design: A secondary, cross-sectional analysis. Race and SES were self-reported prenatally; SES was categorized into four groups: high-income, middle-income and low-income WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) participant/non-participant. The Alternative Healthy Eating Index for Pregnancy (AHEI-P) measured diet quality, including four moderation and nine adequacy components (higher scores = healthier diet). Generalized linear models adjusted for covariates and post hoc testing with Tukey adjustment compared AHEI-P scores between groups, using a threshold of P < 0·05.Setting: Infant Feeding Practices Study II, conducted in a national US convenience cohort.Participants: Women in their third trimester (n 1322) with dietary history.Results: Participants were of 28·9 (se 5·6) years on average and predominantly non-Hispanic White (84 %); approximately one-third participated in WIC and 17 % were high-income. The mean AHEI-P score was 61·7 (se 10·8) of 130 points. High-income women had higher total (62·4 (se 1·0)) and moderation component AHEI-P scores than middle-income (60·1 (se 0·8), P = 0·02), low-income WIC participants (58·3 (se 0·8), P < 0·0001) and non-participants (58·9 (se 0·9), P = 0·001). Non-Hispanic Black participants had lower total (57·8 (se 1·4)) and adequacy scores than Other races (i.e. neither non-Hispanic Black nor White, 62·1 (se 0·9), P = 0·02).Conclusions: Disparities in prenatal diet quality were observed, with non-Hispanic Black women, low-/middle-income and WIC participants having lower diet quality. However, interventions are needed to improve prenatal diet quality broadly among US women.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Public Health Nutrition
Volume
23
Issue
5
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Parker, Haley W., Alison Tovar, Karen McCurdy, and Maya Vadiveloo. "Socio-economic and racial prenatal diet quality disparities in a national US sample." Public Health Nutrition 23, 5 (2020): 894-903. doi: 10.1017/S1368980019003240.