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Pre-pregnancy caffeine and caffeinated beverage intake and risk of spontaneous abortion

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the relation between pre-pregnancy caffeine and caffeinated beverage intake and risk of spontaneous abortion (SAB).

Methods

Our prospective cohort study included 15,590 pregnancies from 11,072 women with no history of SAB in the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991–2009). Beverage intake was assessed every 4 years using a validated questionnaire. Pregnancies were self-reported with case pregnancies lost spontaneously at <20 weeks gestation. Multivariable log-binomial regression models with generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the relative risks (RRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

There was a positive linear trend across categories of pre-pregnancy caffeine intake and risk of SAB such that women consuming >400 mg/day had 1.11 (95 % CI 0.98, 1.25) times the risk of SAB compared to women consuming <50 mg/day (p trend = 0.05). Total coffee intake had a positive, linear association with SAB. Compared to women with no pre-pregnancy coffee intake, women consuming ≥4 servings/day had a 20 % (6, 36 %) increased risk of SAB (p trend = 0.01). There was no difference in the association between caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and risk of SAB. Pre-pregnancy intake of caffeinated tea, caffeinated soda, and decaffeinated soda had no association with SAB.

Conclusions

Pre-pregnancy coffee consumption at levels ≥4 servings/day is associated with increased risk of SAB, particularly at weeks 8–19.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Building II 3rd Floor, 655 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Audrey J. Gaskins & Jorge E. Chavarro

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Janet W. Rich-Edwards, Paige L. Williams, Stacey A. Missmer & Jorge E. Chavarro

  3. Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Audrey J. Gaskins, Janet W. Rich-Edwards, Stacey A. Missmer & Jorge E. Chavarro

  4. Department of Medicine, Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Janet W. Rich-Edwards

  5. Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Paige L. Williams

  6. Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Thomas L. Toth

  7. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Stacey A. Missmer

  8. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Stacey A. Missmer

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  1. Audrey J. Gaskins
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Correspondence to Audrey J. Gaskins.

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Gaskins, A.J., Rich-Edwards, J.W., Williams, P.L. et al. Pre-pregnancy caffeine and caffeinated beverage intake and risk of spontaneous abortion. Eur J Nutr 57, 107–117 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-016-1301-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-016-1301-2

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