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Maternal, Perinatal and Pediatric Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P10-053-24) Pre-conceptional Magnesium Intake and Low Birth Weight: Findings From the nuMoM2b Study

Sunday, June 30, 2024
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM CT
Location: Poster Board 548
Disclosure(s):
Ka Kahe, MD, ScD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Previous research has underscored the importance of magnesium in pregnancy. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between pre-conceptional dietary magnesium intake and the incidence of low birth weight among a large cohort of nulliparous women in the United States.

Methods: The Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-To-Be (NuMoM2b) is an ongoing multi-center cohort study designed to identify predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes (n=10,037). Excluding women with pre-existing health conditions such as chronic hypertension, pre-gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, eclampsia, those with extreme energy intake ( < 600 or >6000 kcal/day), and missing magnesium data, a total of 6,613 participants with live births were included in the final analysis. Dietary magnesium intake over the three months prior to pregnancy was assessed using the Modified Block 2005 Food Frequency Questionnaire. The primary outcome was small for gestational age (SGA) birth weight, defined as infants below the 5th percentile at each gestational age using the Oken cutoffs. The secondary outcome was suspected intrauterine fetal growth restriction (FGR), determined from chart abstractions. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations of interest.

Results: The range of dietary magnesium intake (mg/day) across the four quartiles was as follows: Q1: 43.94–184.59, Q2: 184.62–243.26, Q3: 243.27–317.18, and Q4: 317.26–966.99. After adjusting for potential confounders, a lower likelihood of SGA births (n=224) was associated with dietary magnesium intake. The adjusted ORs and 95% CIs across quartiles 1 to 4 were 1.00 (reference), 0.84 (0.53, 1.33), 0.76 (0.45, 1.27), and 0.49 (0.24, 0.998) respectively, ptrend=0.0495. No significant association was observed between dietary magnesium intake and FGR.

Conclusions: The intake of magnesium may be inversely associated with the risk of low birth weight.

Funding Sources: Faculty start-up funds from Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University