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Review
. 2016 May;95(22):e3792.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000003792.

Effects of Low Glycemic Index Diets on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials

Jinhua Wei  1 , Weijun Heng, Jianbo Gao
Affiliations
Review

Effects of Low Glycemic Index Diets on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials

Jinhua Wei et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2016 May.

Abstract

Studies of the effects of low glycemic index (LGI) diets on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have reported conflicting findings.The aim of the study was to evaluate the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of LGI diets with and without added dietary fiber (DF) on maternal and neonatal outcomes in GDM patients.We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, EBSCO, Springer, Ovid, and Cochrane Library databases for studies of the effects of LGI diets in GDM patients. We performed a meta-analysis of the effects of the LGI diets with and without added dietary fiber (DF) on GDM outcomes. Risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random- and fixed-effects models.Five RCTs involving 302 participants were included in our meta-analysis. No statistically significant differences in the risks of cesarean section delivery, large for gestational age, and small for gestational age were observed. The risk of macrosomia in the LGI groups was significantly lower (RR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.10-0.71; P = 0.008) than that in the control groups. Our subgroup analysis of the effects of DF showed that LGI diets with an increased level of DF, relative to the control diet, reduced the risk of macrosomia beyond that of the LGI diets alone (RR: 0.17 vs 0.47, respectively). The subgroup analysis also showed that LGI diets in which the level of DF was approximately equivalent to that in the control diets significantly reduced the risk of insulin usage (RR = 0.69; 95% CI: 0.52-0.92; P = 0.01).The LGI diets reduced the risk of macrosomia in GDM patients, and LGI diets with added DF reduced the risk of macrosomia further. The LGI diets with levels of DF approximately equivalent to that in the control diets reduced the risk of insulin usage in GDM patients.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Effects of low glycemic index diets on insulin usage.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Effects of low glycemic index diets on cesarean section deliveries .
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Effects of low glycemic index diets with added dietary fiber on insulin usage.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Effects of low glycemic index diets without added dietary fiber on insulin usage.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Effects of low glycemic index diets on macrosomia.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Effects of low glycemic index diets on large for gestational age.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Effects of low glycemic index diets on small for gestational age.
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Effects of low glycemic index diets with added dietary fiber on macrosomia.
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
Effects of low glycemic index diets without added dietary fiber on macrosomia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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