Association of diet quality during pregnancy with maternal glucose metabolism in Chinese women

• Published in: British journal of nutrition 2023-09, Vol.130 (6), p.958-965
• Main Authors: Pan, Wenting, Karatela, Shamshad, Lu, Qinggui, Xie, Luqin, Wu, Shengchi, Jing, Jin, Cai, Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Alcohol use; Dairy products; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diet; Dietary guidelines; Family income; Family medical history; Food; Food intake; Gestational diabetes; Glucose; Glucose metabolism; Glucose tolerance; Health care; Maternal & child health; Metabolism; Metabolism and Metabolic Studies; Nutrition research; Pregnancy; Pregnancy complications; Public health; Quality assessment; Sociodemographics; White people; Womens health
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114523000107

Overall diet quality during pregnancy has played an important role on maternal glucose metabolism. However, evidence based on the adherence to the dietary guideline is limited, especially for Asian populations. We aimed to examine the association between adherence to the Chinese dietary guideline measured by the Diet Balance Index for Pregnancy (DBI-P) and maternal glucose metabolism, including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) status, fasting and 2-h plasma glucose. Data were obtained from the baseline survey of the Yuexiu birth cohort. We recruited 942 pregnant women at 20–28 weeks of gestation in 2017–2018. Dietary intakes during the past month were collected using a validated semi-quantitative FFQ. The scores of DBI-P were calculated to assess dietary quality. Lower absolute values of the scores indicate higher adherence to the Chinese dietary guidelines. All participants underwent a 75 g of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Multiple linear regression and logistic regression were conducted. The Benjamini–Hochberg method was used to adjust multiple comparisons across DBI-P food components. The value of high bound score indicator, reflecting excessive total food intake, was positively associated with OGTT-2h glucose levels (β = 0·037, P = 0·029). After adjustment for multiple comparisons, the score of animal food intake was positively associated with OGTT-2 h glucose levels (β = 0·045, P = 0·045) and risk of GDM (OR = 1·105, P = 0·030). In conclusion, excessive total food intake was associated with higher postprandial glucose in pregnant women. Lower compliance with the dietary guideline for animal food was associated with both higher postprandial glucose and increased risk of GDM during pregnancy.