1. Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
2. EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto
3. Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR)
4. Unidade de Nutrição da Maternidade Dr. Alfredo da Costa, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Lisbon, Portugal
5. Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC), Medicine of Woman, Childhood and Adolescence, NOVA Medical School | Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
6. NICU, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Lisbon, Portugal
7. Unidade de Nutrição Pediátrica, Centro Materno Infantil | Centro Hospitalar Universitário São João, Porto, Portugal
8. Serviço de Nutrição, Centro Hospitalar Universitário São João, Porto, Portugal
9. Center for Health Technology and Services Research – CINTESIS, Porto, Portugal
Poster:
- XX Congress of Food and Nutrition and II International Congress of Food and Nutrition. Monte da Caparica, 23/09/2021.
Preterm birth is increasing worldwide. It is not yet known whether deviations from an adequate dietary pattern are associated with preterm delivery. Diet itself may be an important modulator of chronic inflammation and pro-inflammatory diets during pregnancy were reported to be associated with preterm birth.
This study aimed to explore, in Portuguese women giving birth very prematurely, the association between dietary patterns during pregnancy and preterm delivery as well as major morbidities during pregnancy related with preterm delivery. A single-center cross-sectional observational study including consecutive Portuguese women giving birth before 33 weeks of gestation was conducted. Recall of eating habits during pregnancy was obtained within the first week after delivery, using a semi quantitative food frequency questionnaire validated for Portuguese pregnant women. The Food Processor software (version SQL 9.3.0), supported with nutritional composition data of Portuguese foods and recipes, was used to convert recalled data into nutrients. Sixty women with a median age of 36.0 years were included. From these, 35% were obese or overweight at beginning of pregnancy, 41.7% and 25.0% gained excessive or insufficient weight during pregnancy, respectively. Gestational hypertension was present in 21.7% of cases, gestational diabetes in 18.3%, chronic hypertension in 6.7%, and diabetes mellitus type 2 in 5.0%. Gestational hypertension was significantly associated with increased consumption of pastry products, fast food, bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes. In multivariate analysis, only bread was found to be an independent predictor (OR=1.023; 1.007-1.040, p=0.006). This is the first study determining in Portugal, a country with specific dietary habits, the association between dietary patterns during pregnancy and premature delivery as well as its relationship with morbidities during pregnancy related with preterm delivery. Further prospective representative studies, adjusted to the main covariates are needed to confirm our findings.
Palavras Chave: dietary habits; gestational hypertension; pregnant women; preterm delivery