Anthropometric indices of the newborns related with some lifestyle parameters of women during pregnancy in Tirgu Mures region - a pilot study

Abstract

Objective: We aim to study possible associations between lifestyle, socio-economic aspects, educa-tion and dietary habits during pregnancy and both the incidence of premature deliveries and anthropometric characteristics of newborns in different ethnic Romanian populations. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based retrospective study applied on puerperal women from Tirgu-Mures, Romania. Anova and Kruskall Wallis were the statistical tests used. Results: Deficient intake of dairy products was found in the Romani women (69.50%), of red meat in Romanians (23.20%), of white meat in Hungarians (83.40) and Romanians (77.50%), of fish and eggs in Romani (91.30%) and Hungarian women (89.6%), of vegetables in Hungarian (93.80%) and the Romani women (91.3%) and of whole grain cereals in Romanian (93.40%) and Hungarian (95.50%) women. The water intake below the daily needs was found in 49.30% of Roma-nian women, 47.60% of Hungarian women and 100% of Romani women. An increased consumption of to-bacco (p<0.0032) and alcohol (p<0.0169) was observed in the Romani women group. The level of education (p<0.0001) and the income (p< 0.0001) was significantly lower in the Romani women. The group of Romani women had a higher risk for a premature birth (p<0.0013). Conclusions: The Romani pregnant women pre-sented a deficient diet and an inappropriate lifestyle for pregnancy. A group of Romani women who had newborns with a smaller birth weight and premature births was identified.