Seafood consumption among pregnant and non-pregnant women of childbearing age in the United States, NHANES 1999–2006

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of US pregnant and non-pregnant women in NHANES 1999–2006

	Pregnant women		Non-pregnant women
	N ^a	%^b (95% CI)	N ^a	%^b (95% CI)
Total	1,260		5,848
Age (years)
16–25	586	41.6 (37.0, 46.5)	2,512	26.3 (24.8, 27.8)
26–35	595	49.6 (44.1, 55.1)	1,264	26.5 (24.9, 28.1)
36–49	79	8.8 (5.8, 13.0)	2,072	47.3 (45.3, 49.3)
	p*<0.0001
Race
Non-Hispanic white	559	55.1 (49.4, 60.7)	2,276	66.5 (63.2, 69.7)
Non-Hispanic black	199	15.9 (12.2, 20.4)	1,499	13.1 (11.1, 15.4)
Mexican–American	368	15.7 (12.8, 19.1)	1,552	8.6 (7.2, 10.4)
Other/multiracial	134	13.4 (9.3, 18.8)	521	11.8 (9.7, 14.2)
	p*<0.0001
Education level
<HS graduate	400	23.4 (19.8, 27.5)	2,130	20.7 (19.2, 22.3)
HS graduate or GED	275	18.9 (15.5, 22.8)	1,278	22.9 (21.4, 24.5)
Greater than HS	584	57.6 (53.0, 62.2)	2,435	56.3 (54.0, 58.5)
Missing	1	–^c	5	–^c
	p*=0.17
Poverty income ratio^d
0–1.3	411	24.4 (20.6, 28.8)	1,922	23.6 (21.5, 25.9)
1.301–3.5	412	35.6 (31.9, 39.5)	1,947	32.9 (30.9, 34.9)
3.501+	346	32.7 (27.9, 37.9)	1,577	37.9 (35.4, 40.5)
Missing	91	7.3 (5.0, 10.5)	402	5.6 (4.7, 6.7)
	p*=0.12
Fish or shellfish consumption in the past 30 days
No	306	23.1 (18.9, 27.9)	1,286	18.9 (17.2, 20.7)
Yes	902	73.2 (67.8, 78.0)	4,337	77.8 (75.8, 79.8)
Missing	52	3.7 (2.4, 5.8)	225	3.3 (2.7, 4.2)
	p*=0.14
Fish consumption in the past 30 days
No	465	33.3 (28.9, 38.1)	1,933	28.3 (26.3, 30.3)
Yes	743	63.0 (57.6, 68.0)	3,692	68.4 (66.2, 70.5)
Missing	52	3.7 (2.4, 5.8)	223	3.3 (2.6, 4.1)
	p*=0.08
Shellfish consumption in the past 30 days
No	630	49.6 (44.9, 54.4)	2,733	45.4 (42.7, 48.0)
Yes	578	46.7 (41.7, 51.6)	2,888	51.2 (48.4, 54.1)
Missing	52	3.7 (2.35, 5.8)	227	3.4 (2.7, 4.2)
	p*=0.19
Daily mean grams of seafood (24-h recall)^e
	110.4 (77.5, 143.3)		117.6 (106.9, 128.3)
	p*=0.69

HS, high school; GED, General Education Development; CI, confidence interval.

^aUnweighted N.

^bWeighted column percentage.

^cEstimates suppressed because minimum degrees of freedom (12) for strata not met.

^dPoverty income ratio is the total household income divided by the poverty threshold for the year of the interview.

^eAmong women who reported any seafood consumption in the 24-h recall.

*p-values for χ ² test.

Table 2 Factors associated with any seafood consumption within 30 days prior to examination among US pregnant and non-pregnant women aged 16–49, NHANES 1999–2006

	Pregnant women	Non-pregnant women
	Odds ratio (95% CI)^a	Odds ratio (95% CI)^a
Age (years)
16–25	1.0 (Ref)	1.0 (Ref)
26–35	1.60 (0.99, 2.60)	1.51 (1.23, 1.85)
36–49	5.50 (1.55, 19.52)	1.98 (1.68, 2.33)
Race
Non-Hispanic white	1.0 (Ref)	1.0 (Ref)
Non-Hispanic black	1.37 (0.79, 2.36)	1.75 (1.33, 2.31)
Mexican–American	1.10 (0.67, 1.82)	1.19 (0.94, 1.51)
Other/multiracial	0.83 (0.35, 1.95)	1.31 (0.94, 1.81)
Education level
<HS graduate	1.0 (Ref)	1.0 (Ref)
HS graduate or GED	1.33 (0.74, 2.39)	0.93 (0.74, 1.18)
Greater than HS	1.42 (0.84, 2.39)	1.80 (1.49, 2.18)
Poverty income ratio^b
0–1.3	1.0 (Ref)	1.0 (Ref)
1.301–3.5	1.31 (0.70, 2.44)	0.95 (0.73, 1.24)
3.501+	1.37 (0.67, 2.80)	1.15 (0.89, 1.48)

CI, confidence interval; HS, high school; GED, General Education Development.

^aOdds ratios are adjusted for age, race, education level, and poverty income ratio.

^bPoverty income ratio is the total household income divided by the poverty threshold for the year of the interview.

Table 3 Distribution of frequency of fish and shellfish consumption among US pregnant and non-pregnant women in NHANES 1999–2006

	Pregnant women						Non-pregnant women
	No seafood consumption		1–2 times (past 30 days)		≥3 time (past 30 days)		No seafood consumption		1–2 times (past 30 days)		≥3 time (past 30 days)
	N ^a	%^c (95% CI)	N ^a	%^c (95% CI)	N ^a	%^c (95% CI)	N ^a	%^c (95% CI)	N ^a	%^c (95% CI)	N ^a	%^c (95% CI)
Total	306	24.1 (19.6, 29.2)	342	25.8 (22.5, 29.4)	552	50.1 (45.0, 55.3)	1,286	19.6 (17.8, 21.5)	1,443	23.8 (22.6, 25.0)	2,869	56.6 (54.1, 59.1)
Age (years)
16–25	184	32.0 (26.2, 38.5)	161	27.0 (22.5, 32.0)	211	41.0 (34.7, 47.6)	762	28.1 (25.2, 31.2)	689	26.4 (23.9, 29.0)	957	45.5 (41.9, 49.2)
26–35	114	20.8 (14.8, 28.4)	156	24.6 (19.7–30.2)	299	54.6 (48.1, 61.0)	224	19.1 (16.3, 22.2)	292	23.3 (21.0, 25.9)	693	57.6 (53.9, 61.2)
36–49	8	–^b	25	–^b	42	–^b	300	15.1 (13.2, 17.3)	462	22.6 (20.9, 24.5)	1,219	62.2 (59.3, 65.1)
Race
Non-Hispanic white	123	22.7 (16.9, 29.8)	144	24.0 (19.2, 29.6)	265	53.3 (46.5, 60.0)	516	20.5 (18.3, 23.0)	526	23.6 (21.9, 25.4)	1,153	55.8 (52.6, 59.0)
Non-Hispanic black	39	–^b	55	–^b	95	53.0 (45.2, 60.8)	278	14.6 (11.9, 17.6)	327	21.8 (19.4, 24.5)	815	63.6 (60.2, 66.9)
Mexican–American	103	27.3 (21.7, 33.6)	116	33.8 (28.5, 39.6)	131	38.9 (32.2, 46.1)	385	22.2 (19.4, 25.2)	465	29.6 (26.5, 33.0)	636	48.2 (44.6, 51.8)
Other/multiracial	41	–^b	27	–^b	61	–^b	107	17.9 (13.7, 23.0)	125	22.6 (17.6, 28.4)	265	59.6 (53.7, 62.3)
Education level
<HS graduate	119	32.3 (24.8, 40.9)	130	34.8 (28.0, 42.4)	132	32.9 (24.9, 41.9)	583	25.9 (23.2, 28.8)	614	28.4 (25.7, 31.2)	839	45.7 (42.3, 49.2)
HS or GED	69	–^b	75	26.9 (19.8, 35.5)	118	47.0 (38.4, 55.8)	329	26.0 (22.2, 30.1)	323	25.4 (22.9, 28.0)	570	48.7 (45.1, 52.3)
Greater than HS	117	20.1 (14.4, 27.3)	137	21.9 (16.4, 28.6)	302	58.0 (50.4, 65.3)	372	14.7 (12.9, 16.7)	504	21.5 (19.7, 23.4)	1,459	63.9 (60.7, 66.9)
Poverty income ratio^d
0–1.3	115	32.4 (24.5, 41.4)	134	30.7 (24.8, 37.3)	142	37.0 (28.3, 46.5)	488	22.2 (19.2, 25.6)	530	28.6 (26.2, 31.1)	814	49.2 (46.1, 52.4)
1.301–3.5	101	23.9 (17.1, 32.4)	108	27.8 (21.0, 35.7)	188	48.4 (39.9, 56.9)	421	21.2 (18.3, 24.4)	474	22.5 (19.8, 25.5)	975	56.3 (52.3, 60.2)
3.501+	66	–^b	76	–^b	188	61.1 (53.1, 68.6)	278	16.1 (13.8, 18.8)	344	22.0 (19.8, 24.4)	905	61.9 (58.4, 65.3)

HS, high school; GED, General Education Development; CI, confidence interval.

^aUnweighted N.

^bEstimates suppressed because minimum degrees of freedom (12) for strata not met.

^cWeighted row percentage.

^dPoverty income ratio is the total household income divided by the poverty threshold for the year of the interview.

Table 4 Frequency of consumption of types of fish and shellfish reported^a by US pregnant and non-pregnant women aged 16–49, NHANES, 1999–2006

	Pregnant		Non-pregnant
	N ^b	%^c (95% CI)	N ^b	%^c (95% CI)
Fish eaten in the past 30 days	743 Women		3,692 Women
Tuna	406	52.3 (46.1, 58.4)	1,946	58.0 (55.7, 60.3)
Salmon	161	21.2 (15.8, 27.9)	867	27.4 (24.4, 30.7)
Catfish	100	14.6 (10.3, 20.2)	631	14.2 (11.6, 17.3)
Cod	58	–^d	259	9.5 (7.8, 11.5)
Flatfish	34	–^d	202	6.9 (4.7, 9.9)
Sardines	29	–^d	121	2.5 (1.9, 3.1)
Trout	25	–^d	159	4.0 (3.1, 5.2)
Pollock	23	–^d	141	4.7 (3.7, 5.8)
Haddock	22	–^d	92	–^d
Perch	17	–^d	106	–^d
Bass	14	–^d	64	–^d
Swordfish*	11	–^d	44	–^d
Mackerel*	8	–^d	54	–^d
Sea bass	7	–^d	52	–^d
Walleye	4	–^d	31	–^d
Shark*	3	–^d	7	–^d
Porgy	2	–^d	13	–^d
Pike	1	–^d	6	–^d
Other unknown fish	115	14.2 (10.1, 19.8)	572	14.0 (12.1, 16.2)
Shellfish eaten in the past 30 days	578 Women		2,888 Women
Shrimp	507	88.7 (83.1, 92.6)	2,536	86.4 (84.5, 88.1)
Crabs	126	21.2 (15.1, 28.9)	715	27.7 (25.0, 30.4)
Lobsters	64	–^d	300	12.4 (10.4, 14.7)
Clams	60	–^d	320	13.4 (11.2, 15.9)
Scallops	51	–^d	303	14.7 (12.7, 16.9)
Oysters	37	–^d	215	8.3 (6.8, 10.0)
Mussels	21	–^d	116	5.0 (4.1, 6.2)
Crayfish	18	–^d	83	3.6 (2.5, 5.1)
Other unknown	40	–^d	188	6.9 (5.8, 8.2)

CI, confidence interval.

*FDA & EPA advise avoiding these fish for pregnant women.

^aWomen who reported seafood consumption were then asked the number of times in the last 30 days they consumed each of the types of seafood listed in the Table.

^bUnweighted N.

^cWeighted row percentage.

^dEstimates suppressed because minimum degrees of freedom (12) for strata not met.

Fig. 1 Fish and Shellfish Consumption Trends among Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women in the United States (NHANES 1999–2006).

Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Report of the dietary guidelines advisory committee on the dietary guidelines for Americans, 2010, to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 2010; DC: United States Department of Agriculture: Washington.

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