Maternal Dietary Patterns and Their Association with Pregnancy Outcomes

Maternal nutritional status during pregnancy will affect the outcomes for the mother and the newborn. Maternal diet was assessed in 150 pregnant women during the first trimester of pregnancy by a 168-item food frequency questionnaire. Dietary patterns were explored by Factor analysis, and association of patterns with maternal and neonatal outcomes such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), anemia and anthropometric indices were determined by analysis of variance and linear regression analysis. Three major dietary patterns were identified: 1) High Carbohydrate-Lower Fat (mean age, 27.67 ± 6.1; n = 34), 2) High Carbohydrate-Higher Fat (27.70 ± 4.1; n = 55), and 3) High Fiber (29.27 ± 5.8; n = 61). A significant difference was observed between maternal dietary patterns (p < 0.01) for GDM, while it was not significant for anemia. Also, the number of preterm and low birth weight (LBM) infants as well as mean weight, height and head circumference of the infants did not differ significantly between patterns, but there was a significant difference between the maternal dietary patterns about the number of macrosomic babies, which was higher in the second (n = 9) and third (n = 9) dietary patterns (p < 0.01). After adjusting for mothers' age, disease history, disease status, and energy intake, High Carbohydrate-Lower Fat dietary pattern was more associated with GDM than crude model (p = 0.01 vs. p = 0.02). The present study indicated a significant relationship between maternal dietary patterns before pregnancy and GDM and fetal macrosomia.

Dietary Intake of Thiamine in Migraine Patients and Healthy Subjects: a Case-Control Study

The migraine headache is a disease related to the neurovascular system, which affects 10%–20% of people, worldwide. Recent evidences suggested a relation between thiamine status and migraine headaches. The current study was undertaken to assess dietary intake of the thiamine in migraine patients and to evaluate its association with the frequency of migraine attacks. In a case-control design, the current study was performed on 50 migraine patients and 50 healthy people, 20–60 years old in Isfahan, Iran, in 2017. Information about dietary intake was collected by Food frequency questionnaire and analyzed using the Nutritionist version 4 (N4) software (Tinuviel Software). Information about the history of disease was collected by demographic questionnaire. Analysis of covariance and independent t-test were used for data analysis and p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Mean age, weight, height, and body mass index of participants were 35.1 ± 9.8 years, 65.3 ± 10.4 kg, 162.5 ± 8.4 cm, and 24.7 ± 4.0 kg/m², respectively. Dietary intake of thiamine among the migraine patients was lower than that in the healthy participants (p < 0.001). Migraine patients with the high frequency attacks had significantly lower intake of thiamine compared with moderate frequency attacks group (p = 0.010), however, it was not significant after adjusting for energy intake (p = 0.410, p = 0.240). Dietary intake of thiamine in migraine patients was not significantly different in comparing with healthy subjects. In addition, no significant correlation between thiamine intake and the frequency of migraine attacks was observed.

Dietary Antioxidant Capacity and Its Association with Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the major disorders in pregnancy leading to many adverse maternal outcomes. Although the etiology of PE is not fully understood, resent studies suggest that an imbalance between free radicals production and the antioxidant defense system might have key role. Our aim of the current study was to evaluate the association between dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC), serum TAC and risk of PE in women with preeclampsia and normal pregnancy. This case-control study conducted on 55 women with preeclampsia and 93 with normal pregnancy. Dietary intakes were obtained by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with 168 itmes. Dietary TAC was assessed according to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Database for oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), Release 2. Serum TAC was measured by a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunesorbent assay (ELISA). After adjusting for energy, pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI) and history of PE, no relationship was found between intake of hydrophilic-ORAC (H-ORAC), lipophilic-ORAC (L-ORAC), total phenolics (TP), total-ORAC (T-ORAC), and PE risk. However, serum TAC had a significant positive relationship with the risk of PE after adjusting for energy (odds ratio [OR], 0.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16–0.35), BMI and history of PE (OR, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01–0.32). Findings of this study indicate that serum TAC is positively associated with the risk of PE but no association was found between intake of antioxidant indices and PE risk.

Adiponectin Concentration in Gestational Diabetic Women: a Case-Control Study

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an impaired fasting glucose condition during pregnancy. Adiponectin is a polypeptide hormone that is extensively released by adipocytes which regulates energy homeostasis and carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. In addition, adiponectin has antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of our research was to study about the relationship of adiponectin levels to GDM and glucose intolerance. We selected 25 GDM women and 35 healthy pregnant subjects (18–46 years) who were screened between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation based on the result of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). We designed a case-control study and measured the concentrations of serum adiponectin and compared the concentrations between the groups. Serum adiponectin concentration was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sociodemographic data were collected by personal interview. Serum adiponectin concentrations were significantly lower in the subjects with GDM (5.10 ± 2.15 ng/mL vs. 7.86 ± 3.52 ng/mL, p = 0.001) than in healthy pregnant subjects. The mean concentration of fasting blood glucose was considerably lower in control subjects (86.9 ± 9.0 mg/dL vs. 175.9 ± 20.1 mg/dL, p < 0.001) in comparison to GDM subjects. Our findings showed that serum concentrations of adiponectin were significantly lower in gestational diabetic women and this may help to predict the risk of GDM.

Antioxidant Status and Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: a Case-Control Study

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is described as glucose intolerance diagnosed during pregnancy. Increased oxidative stress has implicated in diabetic problems. The aim of the current study was to compare antioxidant capacity and antioxidant nutrient intake between women with GDM (n = 40) and healthy pregnant women (n = 40). Demographic and obstetrics data were completed using interview technique and dietary intakes by using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with 168 items. The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of serum was assessed by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA) method. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to compare independent variables and other potential risk factors between 2 groups. The results showed that TAC concentration of serum in women with GDM was significantly lower than in healthy pregnant women (2.3 ± 0.7 vs. 3.7 ± 0.1 µmol/L, p < 0.001). Intakes of vitamin E (11.8 + 3.1 vs. 16.2 + 3.1 mg, p < 0.001), selenium (81 ± 26 vs. 95 ± 36 µg, p < 0.05) and zinc (7.4 ± 1.9 vs. 9.1 ± 1.7 mg, p < 0.001) were significantly lower in women with GDM as compared to healthy pregnant women. In contrast, the groups showed no significant difference in vitamin C, β-carotene, selenium, fruit, and vegetable intake. Our findings showed that antioxidant capacity is lower in women with GDM, possibly related to lower intakes of vitamin E and zinc.

Erratum: Dietary Antioxidant Capacity and Its Association with Preeclampsia

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