Food habits in pregnancy and its association with gestational diabetes mellitus: results from a prospective cohort study in public hospitals of urban India

Abstract

Background Few studies have explored the relationship between food habits and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in women from India. We aimed to investigate the associations of food habits and the risk of GDM. Methods As part of the MAASTHI prospective cohort study in urban Bengaluru, India, pregnant women between 18 and 45 years, less than 36 weeks of gestation were included. During baseline, the participant’s age, education, physical activity levels, and food habits were recorded. Screening of GDM was done by the World Health Organization diagnostic criteria using a 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test between the 24th–36th weeks of gestation. Results We included 1777 pregnant women in the study. We show that 17.6% of the women had GDM, of which 76.7% consume red meat. Red meat consumption was associated with an increased risk of GDM (aRR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.5, 2.9) after adjusting for age, family history of diabetes and socioeconomic status. Conclusion The high intake of red meat consumption in pregnancy needs further examination. Also, future evaluations should consider evaluating the risk of red meat consumption against the combined effect of inadequate consumption of vegetables, fruits, and dairy products in pregnant women. Interventions to educate women in lower socioeconomic status on inexpensive, seasonal, and healthy food might be helpful.

Higher Animal Protein Intake During the Second Trimester of Pregnancy Is Associated With Risk of GDM

“…The present study found that the highest tertile of red meat protein (≥2.94 g protein per day or equivalent to roughly 12 g of cooked red meat per day) in the second trimester was significantly associated with the risk of developing GDM. The previous studies have shown inconsistent results, with the two studies suggesting significant associations (15,43) and one study demonstrated a non-significant association (8). However, direct comparisons between the studies could not be made because different measurements for meat intake were used.…”

“…A cohort study in China showed that the women with the highest meat intake (pork, beef, chicken, or lamb) had a higher risk for GDM than those in the lowest meat intake tertile (15). Similarly, a prospective study on the association between the food habits and the GDM risk in India showed that eating red meat more than three times per week was significantly associated with the GDM risk after adjusted for the covariates (43). In contrast, a cohort study in Singapore (Growing Up in Singapore Toward healthy Outcomes-GUSTO study) showed that higher protein from red meat was not significantly associated with a higher risk of GDM (8).…”

Microbiota medicine: towards clinical revolution

“…It was also shown, in a recent study, that GDM pregnant women show special food preferences such as lower intake of vegetables, fish, poultry, and fish paste. This correlates with microbiome diversity [ 73 ]. In this context, the use of probiotics as a novel therapeutic strategy appears to be appealing in the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus in post-GDM women.…”

Concerns regarding red meat consumption during pregnancy: a reply

“…However, from our point of view, the guidelines did not include all the important aspects of a healthy diet for all women before and during pregnancy and during lactation. 11 Not all of the suggestions proposed by national health-related groups were included in the final DGA document, and thus, there is ample room for differences in opinion regarding some aspects of nutrition in pregnancy.…”