Abstract

VIVEIROS, Frederico; POINHOS, Rui  and  AFONSO, Cláudia. NUTRITIONAL INTAKE AND ADEQUACY BEFORE AND DURING GESTATION: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY IN THE FAIAL ISLAND. Acta Port Nutr [online]. 2021, n.27, pp.6-10.  Epub Mar 11, 2022. ISSN 2183-5985.  https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2021.2702.

Nutrition affects both maternal and future generations’ health. There are several studies reporting an inadequate nutritional supply before conception and during pregnancy.

It was intended to assess the nutritional intake of women from the island of Faial (Azores) before and during pregnancy and to analyze its adequacy. In this prospective study, data from 34 women were analyzed.

To assess food intake, a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was applied in two moments: first pre-birth appointment (first trimester of gestation) and last pre-birth appointment (end of the third trimester of gestation). To analyze the adequacy of nutritional support, the recommendations of the European Food Safety Authority, 2017 were used, whenever possible.

The nutrients with higher inadequacy before conception were: vitamin D (100%), iodine (76.5%), lipids (73.5%), carbohydrates (55.9%) and fiber (44.1%). During pregnancy, in addition to the four mentioned above, folates also had a high prevalence of inadequacy (58.8%). In this period, we found that folates and iodine were the nutrients with the greatest increase in inadequacy (44.1 and 20.6 percentage points, respectively).

The results of this study reinforce the importance of promoting the adherence to supplementation, the assessment of the adequacy of nutritional intake and the individualization of nutrition therapy.

Keywords : Nutritional adequacy; Nutritional intake; Gestation; Preconception.

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