Impact of maternal iron and zinc intake on low birth weight risk: a nested case—control study

Background The association between maternal iron/zinc intake and the risk of low birth weight (LBW) in infants is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of iron and zinc daily intake preconception and during pregnancy on the risk of delivering LBW babies and to assess whether the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Liping Yang, Zifu Wang, Lei Cao, Yuqing Li, Jingyan Wang, Shuyu Ding, Baohong Mao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2025-08-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/19896.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849232987925774336
author Liping Yang
Zifu Wang
Lei Cao
Yuqing Li
Jingyan Wang
Shuyu Ding
Baohong Mao
author_facet Liping Yang
Zifu Wang
Lei Cao
Yuqing Li
Jingyan Wang
Shuyu Ding
Baohong Mao
author_sort Liping Yang
collection DOAJ
description Background The association between maternal iron/zinc intake and the risk of low birth weight (LBW) in infants is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of iron and zinc daily intake preconception and during pregnancy on the risk of delivering LBW babies and to assess whether there is an interaction between iron and zinc intake on the risk of LBW. Methods A nested case–control study was performed, including 565 cases and 7,510 controls in Lanzhou City, China. Eligible participants were interviewed about their diets and characteristics during pregnancy. Unconditional logistic regression was used to determine the association between dietary iron/zinc intake and the risk of LBW and its clinical subtypes. Multivariate-adjusted restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were applied to explore the nonlinear association between dietary iron/zinc intake levels and the risk of LBW. Results Lower intake of iron/zinc preconception and during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of LBW and some subtypes, and there was a nonlinear trend between iron/zinc intake and the occurrence risk of LBW (PNonlinear < 0.05). Moreover, the synergistic effects of low iron and low zinc intake on the risk of LBW were found. Conclusion Efforts to promote iron and zinc intake preconception and during pregnancy need to be strengthened to reduce the local incidence of LBW.
format Article
id doaj-art-9a05012439be49d8ac2ebe8e93af86ac
institution Kabale University
issn 2167-8359
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher PeerJ Inc.
record_format Article
series PeerJ
spelling doaj-art-9a05012439be49d8ac2ebe8e93af86ac2025-08-20T15:05:06ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592025-08-0113e1989610.7717/peerj.19896Impact of maternal iron and zinc intake on low birth weight risk: a nested case—control studyLiping Yang0Zifu Wang1Lei Cao2Yuqing Li3Jingyan Wang4Shuyu Ding5Baohong Mao6Department of Public Health and Infection Management, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu, Lanzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Gansu, Lanzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Gansu, Lanzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Gansu, Lanzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Gansu, Lanzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Gansu, Lanzhou, ChinaDepartment of Medical Education, Gansu Provincial Maternity and Child-care Hospital, Gansu, Lanzhou, ChinaBackground The association between maternal iron/zinc intake and the risk of low birth weight (LBW) in infants is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of iron and zinc daily intake preconception and during pregnancy on the risk of delivering LBW babies and to assess whether there is an interaction between iron and zinc intake on the risk of LBW. Methods A nested case–control study was performed, including 565 cases and 7,510 controls in Lanzhou City, China. Eligible participants were interviewed about their diets and characteristics during pregnancy. Unconditional logistic regression was used to determine the association between dietary iron/zinc intake and the risk of LBW and its clinical subtypes. Multivariate-adjusted restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were applied to explore the nonlinear association between dietary iron/zinc intake levels and the risk of LBW. Results Lower intake of iron/zinc preconception and during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of LBW and some subtypes, and there was a nonlinear trend between iron/zinc intake and the occurrence risk of LBW (PNonlinear < 0.05). Moreover, the synergistic effects of low iron and low zinc intake on the risk of LBW were found. Conclusion Efforts to promote iron and zinc intake preconception and during pregnancy need to be strengthened to reduce the local incidence of LBW.https://peerj.com/articles/19896.pdfMaternalIronZincIntakeLow-birth-weightRisk
spellingShingle Liping Yang
Zifu Wang
Lei Cao
Yuqing Li
Jingyan Wang
Shuyu Ding
Baohong Mao
Impact of maternal iron and zinc intake on low birth weight risk: a nested case—control study
PeerJ
Maternal
Iron
Zinc
Intake
Low-birth-weight
Risk
title Impact of maternal iron and zinc intake on low birth weight risk: a nested case—control study
title_full Impact of maternal iron and zinc intake on low birth weight risk: a nested case—control study
title_fullStr Impact of maternal iron and zinc intake on low birth weight risk: a nested case—control study
title_full_unstemmed Impact of maternal iron and zinc intake on low birth weight risk: a nested case—control study
title_short Impact of maternal iron and zinc intake on low birth weight risk: a nested case—control study
title_sort impact of maternal iron and zinc intake on low birth weight risk a nested case control study
topic Maternal
Iron
Zinc
Intake
Low-birth-weight
Risk
url https://peerj.com/articles/19896.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT lipingyang impactofmaternalironandzincintakeonlowbirthweightriskanestedcasecontrolstudy
AT zifuwang impactofmaternalironandzincintakeonlowbirthweightriskanestedcasecontrolstudy
AT leicao impactofmaternalironandzincintakeonlowbirthweightriskanestedcasecontrolstudy
AT yuqingli impactofmaternalironandzincintakeonlowbirthweightriskanestedcasecontrolstudy
AT jingyanwang impactofmaternalironandzincintakeonlowbirthweightriskanestedcasecontrolstudy
AT shuyuding impactofmaternalironandzincintakeonlowbirthweightriskanestedcasecontrolstudy
AT baohongmao impactofmaternalironandzincintakeonlowbirthweightriskanestedcasecontrolstudy