Selected food intake and risk of multiple pregnancies

In order to explore the association between multiple birth risk and diet, d ata were analysed from a case-control study on risk factors for multiple bi rths conducted in Italy between 1988 and 1998. A total of 185 cases (median age 30 years) were interviewed: 36 women delivered monozygotic and 149 del ivered spontaneous dizygotic multiple births. The control group comprised 4 98 women who gave birth at term (>37 weeks gestation) to healthy infants on randomly selected days at the same clinic. Women were specifically exclude d if they reported a history of multiple pregnancy or they had received tre atment for infertility for the index pregnancy. No marked differences emerg ed in daily intake between cases and controls and a total of 35 foods items , including the major sources of beta-carotene, retinol, ascorbic acid, vit amin D, E, methionine folate and calcium in the Italian diet. Likewise inta ke of selected micronutrients was largely similar in dizygotic cases, monoz ygotic cases and controls, with the only exception of a slightly lower inta ke of folates in dizygotic pregnancies in comparison with controls: this di fference was statistically significant (P < 0.05), but limited in quantitat ive terms (mean daily intake of folate 192.4, 183.2 and 191.4 <mu>g respect ively in monozygotic, dizygotic cases and controls). In conclusion, the res ults of this study do not support the role of diet in the development of mu ltiple births.