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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2025 Jun 2.
Published in final edited form as: Matern Child Health J. 2023 Nov 7;28(2):206–213. doi: 10.1007/s10995-023-03802-5

Table 1:

Maternal Dietary Intake across Pregnancy among Women with Dichorionic Twin Pregnancies (NICHD Fetal Growth Studies – Twins)

Dietary Variables Weighted a Mean b (95% CI) P c
1st Trimester Visit
n = 138
2nd Trimester Visit
n = 121
3rd Trimester Visit
n = 78
Total energy (kcal) 2010 (1846, 2175) 2177 (2005, 2349) 2253 (2056, 2450) 0.01
Foods and food groups (MPED servings) d
Fruits and vegetables 4.0 (3.6, 4.4) 4.1 (3.7, 4.5) 3.8 (3.3, 4.3) 0.78
Total fruits 2.0 (1.7, 2.2) 2.2 (1.9, 2.5) 2.1 (1.7, 2.4) 0.60
Whole fruits 1.4 (1.2, 1.6) 1.6 (1.4, 1.8) 1.4 (1.2, 1.7) 0.60
Total vegetables 2.1 (1.8, 2.3) 1.9 (1.6, 2.1) 1.7 (1.5, 2.0) 0.41
Dark-green vegetables 0.4 (0.3, 0.5) 0.3 (0.2, 0.4) 0.3 (0.2, 0.4) 0.60
Orange vegetables 0.1 (0.1, 0.2) 0.1 (0.1, 0.2) 0.1 (0.1, 0.2) 0.71
Other vegetables 0.8 (0.7, 0.9) 0.7 (0.6, 0.9) 0.6 (0.5, 0.8) 0.60
White potatoes 0.3 (0.3, 0.3) 0.2 (0.2, 0.3) 0.3 (0.2, 0.3) 0.41
Starchy vegetables 0.2 (0.1, 0.2) 0.2 (0.1, 0.2) 0.1 (0.1, 0.1) 0.41
Tomatoes 0.3 (0.3, 0.4) 0.3 (0.2, 0.3) 0.3 (0.2, 0.3) 0.71
Whole grains 0.9 (0.8, 1.0) 0.9 (0.8, 1.0) 0.9 (0.8, 1.0) 0.95
Total dairy 1.9 (1.6, 2.2) 1.9 (1.6, 2.2) 2.2 (1.9, 2.6) 0.60
 Milk 1.1 (0.8, 1.4) 1.1 (0.8, 1.4) 1.4 (1.0, 1.7) 0.60
 Cheese 0.6 (0.5, 0.7) 0.6 (0.5, 0.7) 0.7 (0.6, 0.7) 0.60
 Yogurt 0.2 (0.2, 0.3) 0.2 (0.2, 0.3) 0.2 (0.2, 0.3) 0.98
Processed meats 0.5 (0.4, 0.6) 0.4 (0.3, 0.5) 0.5 (0.3, 0.6) 0.60
Legumes 0.1 (0.1, 0.1) 0.1 (0.1, 0.1) 0.1 (0.1, 0.1) 0.98
Fish 1.2 (1.0, 1.4) 1.2 (1.0, 1.4) 1.0 (0.8, 1.3) 0.60
Macronutrients
 Carbohydrates (% energy) 50.0 (48.6, 51.4) 49.3 (47.8, 50.8) 48.4 (46.6, 50.2) 0.32
  Protein (% energy) 16.5 (15.9, 17.1) 16.6 (16.0, 17.2) 16.9 (16.2, 17.6) 0.54
  Total fat (% energy) 35.5 (34.4, 36.7) 36.3 (35.1, 37.5) 36.8 (35.4, 38.2) 0.32
  PUFA (% energy) 7.2 (6.9, 7.6) 7.4 (7.1, 7.8) 7.3 (6.9, 7.8) 0.67
  SFA (% energy) 11.6 (11.1, 12.0) 12.0 (11.5, 12.5) 12.4 (11.9, 13.0) 0.13
  MUFA (% energy) 14.0 (13.4, 14.6) 14.0 (13.4, 14.7) 14.2 (13.5, 15.0) 0.80
Carbohydrates (grams) 247.5 (239.0, 256.0) 248.5 (239.5, 257.5) 236.4 (225.8, 247.1) 0.17
Protein (grams) 82.2 (78.8, 85.6) 81.4 (77.8, 85.0) 85.1 (81.0, 89.3) 0.32
Total fat (grams) 79.8 (76.8, 82.8) 80.6 (77.5, 83.8) 83.9 (80.2, 87.5) 0.17
Added sugars (tsp equivalent)e 14.9 (12.8, 17.0) 15.9 (13.6, 18.1) 12.3 (9.6, 15.1) 0.17
Total dietary fiber (grams) 19.3 (18.0, 20.7) 19.3 (17.8, 20.7) 18.5 (16.9, 20.1) 0.66
Micronutrients
Iron (mg) 16.0 (15.3, 16.6) 15.7 (15.0, 16.3) 15.7 (14.9, 16.5) 0.94
Zinc (mg) 11.7 (11.2, 12.2) 12.2 (11.7, 12.7) 12.0 (11.3, 12.6) 0.49
Calcium (mg) 1004.6 (918.6, 1090.6) 991.0 (900.1, 1082.0) 1077.2 (971.1, 1183.3) 0.49
Potassium (mg) 3176.3 (3017.2, 3335.5) 3153.4 (2984.8, 3322.0) 3189.4 (2991.8, 3387.1) 0.94
Sodium (mg) 3192.4 (3091.8, 3293.0) 3080.9 (2974.2, 3187.6) 3100.1 (2974.5, 3225.7) 0.49
Total folate (μg, DFE) 539.8 (513.6, 566.0) 518.2 (490.6, 545.8) 532.5 (500.6, 564.4) 0.49
Vitamin B6 (mg) 2.0 (1.9, 2.1) 2.0 (1.9, 2.1) 2.0 (1.9, 2.2) 0.94
Vitamin B12 (μg) 5.4 (5.0, 5.8) 5.4 (4.9, 5.8) 5.5 (4.9, 6.0) 0.94
Vitamin C (mg) 159.0 (142.8, 175.3) 163.6 (146.3, 181.0) 154.2 (133.1, 175.2) 0.94
Vitamin A (μg, RAE) 948.1 (874.2, 1022.0) 876.2 (797.8, 954.7) 953.2 (860.5, 1046.0) 0.49
Vitamin D (mg) 5.8 (5.1, 6.5) 5.7 (5.0, 6.5) 6.1 (5.2, 7.0) 0.94
Healthy Eating Index-2010 f
Total score (100) 63.9 (62.1, 65.6) 64.5 (62.6, 66.3) 63.2 (61.1, 65.3) 0.36
Total vegetable score (5) 3.8 (3.6,4.0) 3.6 (3.4,3.8) 3.5 (3.3,3.8) 0.13
Greens and beans score (5) 2.9 (2.6,3.2) 2.9 (2.6,3.2) 2.9 (2.6,3.3) 0.95
Total fruit score (5) 4.2 (4.0,4.4) 4.3 (4.1,4.5) 3.9 (3.7,4.2) 0.13
Whole fruit score (5) 4.4 (4.2,4.6) 4.5 (4.3,4.7) 4.4 (4.1,4.6) 0.56
Whole grains score (10) 3.2 (2.9,3.5) 3.0 (2.6,3.3) 3.0 (2.6,3.4) 0.53
Dairy score (10) 6.2 (5.8,6.6) 6.7 (6.2,7.1) 6.9 (6.4,7.4) 0.12
Total protein foods score (5) 4.6 (4.4,4.7) 4.7 (4.5,4.8) 4.5 (4.4,4.7) 0.34
Seafoods and plant proteins food score (5) 4.0 (3.8,4.2) 4.1 (3.9,4.3) 4.0 (3.7,4.3) 0.64
Fatty acid ratio score (10) 5.0 (4.5,5.5) 4.9 (4.4,5.4) 4.6 (4.0,5.2) 0.56
Sodium score (10) 4.4 (3.9,4.8) 4.9 (4.5,5.4) 4.8 (4.3,5.3) 0.14
Refined grain score (10) 7.9 (7.5,8.3) 8.4 (8.0,8.8) 8.0 (7.5,8.4) 0.12
Empty calories score (20) 13.3 (12.5,14.1) 12.7 (11.8,13.5) 12.8 (11.8,13.7) 0.32
a

Inverse probability weighting applied to the analytic sample at each trimester (n=138, n=121, n=78) to reflect the characteristics of the full cohort (n = 171). Variables used in calculating inverse probability weights included age, income, insurance, body mass index category, race/ethnicity, parity, marital status, education, nativity, twin outcomes, gestational diabetes, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

b

All means except total energy, % energy of macronutrients, and Healthy Eating Index-2010 were adjusted for energy to 2000 kcal/day

c

The difference between first, second, third trimester diet was tested, and false discovery rate adjusted P-values within each dietary component section were computed

d

Food and food group servings/day estimated from the MyPyramid Equivalents Database (MPED) in cup equivalents for fruits, vegetables, and dairy and ounce equivalents for meat, poultry, fish, grains, and legumes

e

Added sugars servings/day estimated from the MyPyramid Equivalents Database (MPED) in teaspoon equivalents

f

Healthy Eating Index-2010 recommended scores are shown in parentheses after each component

Abbreviations - MPED: MyPyramid Equivalents Database; CI: Confidence Interval; PUFA: Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids; SFA: Saturated Fatty Acids; MUFA: Monounsaturated Fatty Acids; DFE, dietary folate equivalents; RAE, retinol activity equivalents.