Objective: Explore associations between dietary patterns and maternal age.
Design: Population based cohort study.
Setting: Maternity department of a large hospital in northern England.
Sample: Women delivering a singleton at Bradford Royal Infirmary between March 2007 and December 2010 (N = 5,083).
Methods: Survey data including maternal dietary patterns derived from food frequency questionnaire data using principal component analysis (PCA) were compared by maternal age using one-way ANOVA and chi-squared as appropriate.
Main outcome measures: Dietary pattern PCA scores, supplement use, familiarity and compliance with 5-a-day fruit and vegetable recommendations, consumption of cola, maternal BMI.
Results: Three distinct dietary patterns were derived from the data; snack and processed foods, meat and fish and grains and starches. Mean PCA score for snack and processed foods was higher among women aged ≤19 (0.6, CI 0.4 to 0.8) than women aged 20-34 (-0.02, CI -0.1 to 0.01) and those aged 35≥ (-0.3, CI -0.4 to -0.2). Women aged 35≥ had a significantly higher mean PCA score for the grains and starches dietary pattern (0.1, CI 0.03 to 0.3) compared to both the 20-34 years (-0.01, CI -0.05 to 0.02) and the ≤19 (-0.04, CI -0.2 to 0.1) groups. No differences were observed between groups in mean PCA scores for the meat and fish dietary pattern. Adolescent women also had higher intakes of sugar sweetened cola (0.9 cups per day, CI 0.7 to 1.1) and reported lower levels of fruit and vegetable and supplement intake. Women aged 35≥ had a higher mean BMI (28.0, CI 27.5 to 28.4) and higher prevalence of overweight (36.8%) and obesity (29.6%, p<0.001).
Conclusions: Significant differences were observed between age groups both in terms of diet quality and BMI. Interventions targeted by age group may be advantageous in improving maternal nutrition and contribute to healthy pregnancies.