Maternal dietary intake of folate, vitamin B12 and MTHFR 677C>T genotype: their impact on newborn's anthropometric parameters

In this study, we evaluated the effects of dietary intake of vitamin B-12 and folate during pregnancy and their interactions with maternal polymorphism of MTHFR (677C>T; 1298A>C) on intrauterine development. Anthropometric parameters were obtained from 231 newborns that belong to a prospective birth cohort in Morelos, Mexico. Maternal dietary intake of vitamin B12 and folate was assessed using a semi-quantitative questionnaire administered during the first and third trimesters of the pregnancy. Maternal MTHFR 677C>T and 1298 A>C genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP. The associations between deficient dietary intake of vitamin B-12 (<2.0 mu g/d) and folate (<400 mu g/d) in the first and third trimesters and maternal polymorphisms of MTHFR on anthropometric parameters at birth were estimated using a multivariate linear regression model. During pregnancy, the deficient dietary intake was roughly 60 % for folate and 19 % for vitamin B-12. Allelic frequencies of 677T and 1298C were 59 and 10 %, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, deficiency in maternal dietary intake of vitamin B-12 (<2.0 mu g/d) was associated with a significant reduction in length (beta similar to -2.4; 95 % CI -4.3; -0.6) and length-for-age at birth (beta similar to -1.2; 95 % CI -2.3; -0.1) among infants whose mothers were carriers of the 677TT genotype (p for interaction = 0.02). In contrast, no association was observed between deficiency in maternal dietary intake of folate (<400 mu g/d) and any anthropometric parameter of newborns. These results suggest that supplementation with vitamin B-12 during pregnancy could have a favorable impact on intrauterine fetal development mainly in populations that are genetically susceptible.