Effect of maternal lifestyle intervention on metabolic health and adiposity of offspring: Findings from the Finnish Gestational Diabetes Prevention Study (RADIEL).

AIM: To assess in women at high risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) the effect of a lifestyle intervention on the metabolic health of their offspring around 5 years after delivery. METHODS: For the original Finnish gestational diabetes prevention study (RADIEL), 720 women with a prepregnancy body mass index (BMI)≥30kg/m2 and/or previous GDM were enrolled before or during early pregnancy and allocated to either an interventional (n=126) or conventional (n=133) care group. The present 5-year follow-up substudy assessed the metabolic health outcomes of their offspring. Age- and gender-standardized residuals of metabolic health components (waist circumference, mean arterial pressure, high-density lipoprotein and triglyceride levels, and fasting insulin/glucose ratio) were also combined to determine the accumulation of metabolic effects. Body composition was assessed by electrical bioimpedance. RESULTS: Offspring of women in the intervention group had a less optimal metabolic profile after the 5-year follow-up compared with offspring in the usual care group (P=0.014). This difference in metabolic health was primarily related to lipid metabolism, and was more prominent among boys (P=0.001) than girls (P=0.74). Neither GDM, gestational weight gain, prepregnancy BMI, offspring age nor timing of randomization (before or during pregnancy) could explain the detected difference, which was also more pronounced among the offspring of GDM pregnancies (P=0.010). Offspring body composition was similar in both groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The lifestyle intervention aimed at GDM prevention was associated with unfavourable metabolic outcomes among offspring at around 5 years of age.

The effect of dietary counselling on food intakes in pregnant women at risk for gestational diabetes: a secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial RADIEL.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is increasing worldwide. GDM may be prevented by improving the diets of pregnant women. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary counselling on the diets of pregnant women at GDM risk. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial the Finnish gestational diabetes prevention study (RADIEL) in which pre-pregnant and pregnant women with previous GDM or BMI ⩾30 kg/m(2) were allocated into two groups, namely the control and the intervention groups. The control group received standard antenatal dietary counselling according to the Finnish Nutrition Recommendations. The intervention group participated in one individual dietary counselling session and one group dietary counselling session in addition to the standard counselling. This study included women who were recruited during pregnancy. To assess changes in food intake, food-intake questionnaires were collected during the first and the second trimester of pregnancy. Bootstrap type analysis of covariance was used, and 242 participants were included in the final analysis to study changes in food intake. RESULTS: The intakes of low-fat cheese (baseline adjusted mean 0.09 times/day; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.07, 0.24; P=0.040) and fish (baseline adjusted mean 0.28 times per week; 95% CI 0.08, 0.49; P=0.011) showed a significant increase in the intervention group compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that dietary counselling in early pregnancy can lead to modest dietary improvements in pregnant women at GDM risk.