International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Volume 4 Issue 10, October 2015 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Dietary Intake of Acrylamide during Pregnancy and Its Relation with Birth Weight and Head Circumference of Newborns Dalia I Tayel 1 , Walaa MR El-Medany 2 , Aly K Amin 3 , Hassan H Hassan 4 1, 2, 3 Nutrition Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt 4 Paediatrics Department, Faculty of medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt Abstract: Maternal diet during pregnancy is an important factor for a healthy growing newborn. A regular maternal acrylamide intake may affect the nutritional status of newborn. The study aimed to assess the dietary intake of acrylamide for Egyptian pregnant women and its association with birth weight and head circumference of their newborns. A cross sectional study was conducted on 200 pregnant women at 3 rd trimester attending El-Shatby Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital for delivery and their newborns as well. Data about socio-demographic characteristics and frequency of foods containing high levels of acrylamide consumption were collected from each pregnant woman. Birth weight and head circumference were measured for each newborn immediately after delivery. Dietary acrylamide intake was 41.8 μg/day. Birth weight and head circumference had a reverse significant association with high intake of acrylamide. The intake of acrylamide during pregnancy should be monitored along with checking any changes in the fetal weight during the antenatal visits. Awareness of the pregnant women should be raised about the acrylamide containing foods to decrease its consumption. Healthy diet should be eaten during pregnancy. Keywords: Acrylamide intake; Pregnant women; Pregnancy outcome; Birth weight. 1. Introduction Acrylamide has been found to be formed in many cooked starchy foods. It was accidentally discovered in foods by scientists in Sweden (in April 2002) when they found the chemical in starchy foods, such as potato chips, French fries, bread, biscuits, breakfast cereals or crackers during frying, roasting, toasting, baking and grilling [1]. But it was not detected in foods prepared by boiling [2]. It is formed mainly by a reaction of reducing sugars with asparagine (amino acid found in potato, grains and nuts) when heating the food to >120°C. Acrylamide levels appear to rise as food is heated for longer periods of time and more of this substance is accumulated when preparation takes longer and/or occurs at high temperature [3-5]. There has been a worldwide concern about the potential health effects of dietary exposure to acrylamide as it has previously been recognized as a carcinogen in rodents and humans [6-7]. In pregnant women, the mean acrylamide intake among the 50,651 Norwegian pregnant women was 27.1 μg/day or 0.4 μg/kg body weight/day [8]. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and health Canada estimated the exposure of adults to acrylamide in food was around 0.4 μg/kg body weight/day [9]. The joint FAO/WHO expert committee stated that average intake of acrylamide for general population is 0.001 mg acrylamide/kg body weight/day, and for high intake consumer is 0.004 mg acrylamide/kg body weight /day [10]. The tolerable daily intake of acrylamide for carcinogenic levels should be set at 2.6 μg/kg body weight to avoid the cancer risks and this would be equivalent to 182 μg for a 70 kg human. While the tolerable daily intake of acrylamide for neurotoxicity was found to be higher at 40 μg/kg body weight per day or 2,800 μg per day for a 70 kg body weight human. Both levels vastly exceed levels estimated by various national agencies [11]. Fetal exposure to acrylamide through the diet may start in utero as acrylamide has been found to cross the placenta barrier and so there has been particular concern of the health risk to the unborn child [12-14]. Maternal consumption of foods rich in acrylamide, such as fried potatoes, was associated with cord blood acrylamide adduct levels and with reduced birth weight and smaller head circumferences [15]. The Hb adduct levels measured in cord blood at the time of birth reflects the acrylamide exposure to the fetus during the third trimester. It was found that both the birth weight and the frequency of small for gestational age differed significantly by quartiles of acrylamide intake during pregnancy [16]. The aim of the study was to assess the dietary intake of acrylamide among Egyptian pregnant women to assert that dietary exposure to acrylamide during pregnancy and its association with reduction of the birth weight and the head circumference of their newborns as the outcome of pregnancy. 2. Subjects and Methods 2.1. Study Design and Sampling A pilot study on 15 cases of pregnant women was conducted earlier in this study to calculate the sample size. Cross sectional study was conducted on pregnant woman at 3 rd trimester attending Alexandria University Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital (El-Shatby Hospital) for delivery and Paper ID: SUB158937 1036