The Potential Causal Effect of the Pre-Pregnancy Dietary Phytochemical Index on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective Cohort Study Publisher Pubmed



Heidarzadehesfahani N¹ ; Heshmati J² ; Pirjani R³ ; Moini A^{3, 4} ; Shafaatdoost M⁵ ; Esmaeili M⁶ ; Mardimamaghani A⁷ ; Nachvak SM¹ ; Sepidarkish M⁸
Source: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth Published:2024

Abstract

Background: Phytochemicals are non-nutritive bioactive compounds with beneficial effects on the metabolism of glucose. This study aimed to clarify the possible causal effect of the pre-pregnancy dietary phytochemical index (DPI) on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: In this prospective cohort study 1,856 pregnant women aged 18–45 years who were in their first trimester, were recruited and followed up until delivery. The dietary intakes of participants were examined using an interviewer-administered validated 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Inverse probability weighting (IPW) of propensity scores (PS), estimated from the generalized boosted model (GBM) were used to obtain a adjusted risk ratio (aRR) for potential confounders. Results: During the follow-up period, 369 (19.88%) women were diagnosed with GDM. DPI scores ranged from 6.09 to 89.45. There was no association between DPI scores and GDM (aRR: 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92, 1.08; p trend = 0.922). When comparing DPI quartile 4 (most pro-phytochemical content) to quartile 1 (few phytochemical contents), there was no significant difference between them (aRR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.75, 1.25; p = 0.852). Also, there was no significant difference between DPI quartile 3 and quartile 1 (aRR: 1.04; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.34; p = 0.741) as well as DPI quartile 2 and quartile 1 (aRR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.71, 1.21; p = 0.593). Conclusions: Although this data did not support the association between pre-pregnancy DPI scores and GDM, further cohort studies to ascertain the causal association between them are warranted. © The Author(s) 2024.