Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2012 Mar 14;26(4):328–335. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3016.2012.01264.x

Table 2.

Differences in cognitive test scores at age 3 according to maternal intake of methyl donor nutrients during pregnancya

PPVT-III
Total WRAVMA
Unadjusted difference
[95% CI]
Adjusted differenceb
[95% CI]
Unadjusted difference
[95% CI]
Adjusted differenceb
[95% CI]
Folate, per 600 µg/d
   Early pregnancy supplements 4.4 [3.2, 5.6] 1.2 [−0.1, 2.4] 1.3 [0.4, 2.3] 0.1 [−1.0, 1.1]
   1st trimester 5.3 [4.0, 6.5] 1.6 [0.1, 3.1] 1.9 [0.9, 2.9] 0.3 [−1.0, 1.6]
   2nd trimester 3.0 [1.6, 4.4] 0.9 [−0.5, 2.2] 0.4 [−0.6, 1.5] −0.7 [−1.9, 0.6]
Vitamin B12, per 2.6 µg/d
   Early pregnancy supplements 0.2 [0.1, 0.4] 0.1 [−0.1, 0.2] 0.1 [−0.1, 0.2] 0.0 [−0.1, 0.2]
   1st trimester 0.1 [−0.1, 0.2] 0.0 [−0.1, 0.1] 0.1 [−0.1, 0.2] 0.0 [−0.1, 0.2]
   2nd trimester −0.4 [−0.8, −0.1] −0.4 [−0.8, −0.1] −0.1 [−0.3, 0.2] 0.0 [−0.3, 0.2]
Choline, per 450 mg/d
   1st trimester −1.7 [−7.6, 4.2] −3.1 [−11.0, 4.8] 0.1 [−4.6, 4.9] −2.8 [−9.9, 4.3]
   2nd trimester −0.4 [−6.5, 5.7] 0.8 [−7.4, 9.0] 0.3 [−4.6, 5.2] −0.4 [−7.6, 6.8]
Betaine, per 100 mg/d
   1st trimester 2.2 [1.4, 2.9] 0.4 [−0.4, 1.1] 0.6 [0.0, 1.2] 0.0 [−0.6, 0.7]
   2nd trimester 2.2 [1.4, 3.0] 0.4 [−0.3, 1.2] 0.9 [0.2, 1.5] 0.1 [−0.6, 0.8]
Methionine, per 400 mg/d
   1st trimester 0.2 [−0.6, 1.0] 0.4 [−0.7, 1.5] 0.4 [−0.2, 1.0] 0.5 [−0.5, 1.5]
   2nd trimester 0.2 [−0.7, 1.1] −0.3 [−1.5, 0.9] 0.4 [−0.4, 1.1] 0.0 [−1.1, 1.1]
a

Intake includes both food and supplement sources. Intake of each nutrient during 1st or 2nd trimester was adjusted for total energy using the method of the residuals. Sample sizes for the 1st and 2nd trimester are 1148 and 1083, respectively.

b

From trimester-specific linear regression models with cognitive test scores as the outcome and covariates that included all five nutrients in the table at the same time plus maternal race/ethnicity, age, parity, smoking during pregnancy, prepregnancy BMI, PPVT, education, total energy, fish, and iron intake; paternal education; household income; and child’s sex, and English as primary language. Models for the periconceptional period did not include choline, betaine, or methionine.