Researchers say following a mediterranean diet can lower preeclampsia risk by 28%
Women who followed a
plant-based Mediterranean diet composed of vegetables, fruits, legumes
and nuts, along with healthy fats, during conception had a lower risk of
developing many adverse pregnancy-related outcomes, including a 28%
reduction in risk of developing preeclampsia, researchers of a new study
said.
The findings of the study, published in the JAMA Open Network, further found that the Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of a host of pregnancy-related complications, including gestational diabetes and hypertension, preterm birth, delivery of a small-for-gestational-age infant, and stillbirth.“This multicenter, population-based study validates that a healthier eating pattern is associated with a lower risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, the most exciting being a 28% lower risk for preeclampsia,” Dr Natalie Bello, the senior and corresponding author of the study and the director of Hypertension Research in the Smidt Heart Institute, said.“Importantly, this connection between the Mediterranean diet and lower risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes was seen in a geographically, racially and ethnically diverse population,” she added.The researchers further found that the association was stronger in women over 35 years, traditionally considered advanced maternal age, Dr Bello said.The study included 7,798 pregnant women between 2010 and 2013 and was part of the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-be, of whom 10% were 35 years and older with 11% Non-Hispanic Black, 17% Hispanic and 4% Asian respondents.A high Mediterranean diet score was related to 21% lower odds of having any adverse pregnancy outcome, as well as a 28% and 37% lower risk of having preeclampsia or eclampsia and gestational diabetes, respectively, the researchers found.“We also looked at the individual components of the Mediterranean diet and found higher intakes of vegetables, legumes and fish were related to lower associated risk of an adverse pregnancy outcome,” Dr Bello further added.Dr Christine Albert, the chairperson of the Department of Cardiology, who was not involved in the study, says that taken together, these findings uniquely demonstrate that in United States women, adoption of a Mediterranean diet pattern may represent an important lifestyle approach for the prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly in women with advanced maternal age.Previously, only three observational studies, each with a modest number of participants, have investigated the association between adherence to this healthful diet pattern around the time of conception and the risk of developing preeclampsia.“These findings add to the growing body of evidence demonstrating that the Mediterranean-style diet may play an important role in preserving the health of women across the lifespan, including during pregnancy,” Dr Albert said.
