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. 2019 Feb 22;11(2):460.
doi: 10.3390/nu11020460.

Changes in Micronutrient Intake and Status, Diet Quality and Glucose Tolerance from Preconception to the Second Trimester of Pregnancy

Affiliations

Changes in Micronutrient Intake and Status, Diet Quality and Glucose Tolerance from Preconception to the Second Trimester of Pregnancy

Moniek Looman et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Data on changes in dietary intake and related blood parameters throughout pregnancy are scarce; moreover, few studies have examined their association with glucose homeostasis. Therefore, we monitored intake of folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D and iron, their status markers, and diet quality from preconception to the second trimester of pregnancy, and we examined whether these dietary factors were associated with glucose homeostasis during pregnancy. We included 105 women aged 18⁻40 years with a desire to get pregnancy or who were already <24 weeks pregnant. Women at increased gestational diabetes (GDM) risk were oversampled. Measurements were scheduled at preconception (n = 67), and 12 (n =53) and 24 weeks of pregnancy (n =66), including a fasting venipuncture, 75-grams oral glucose tolerance test, and completion of a validated food frequency questionnaire. Changes in micronutrient intake and status, and associations between dietary factors and glucose homeostasis, were examined using adjusted repeated measures mixed models. Micronutrient intake of folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin D and related status markers significantly changed throughout pregnancy, which was predominantly due to changes in the intake of supplements. Micronutrient intake or status levels were not associated with glucose homeostasis, except for iron intake (FE µg/day) with fasting glucose (β = -0.069 mmol/L, p = 0.013) and HbA1c (β = -0.4843 mmol, p = 0.002). Diet quality was inversely associated with fasting glucose (β = -0.006 mmol/L for each DHD15-index point, p = 0.017). It was shown that micronutrient intakes and their status markers significantly changed during pregnancy. Only iron intake and diet quality were inversely associated with glucose homeostasis.

Keywords: diet quality; folate; gestational diabetes; glucose homeostasis; iron; micronutrients; pregnancy; status markers; vitamin B12; vitamin B6; vitamin D.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the GLIMP2 study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes in total, dietary and supplement nutrient intake and status for (a) folate, (b) vitamin B6, (c) vitamin B12, (d) vitamin D, (e) iron, and (f) diet quality as assessed by the DHD15-index. Values are mean (SEM) and presented in Supplementary Data Table S1. T0 is preconception, T1 is 12 weeks pregnant, and T2 is 24 weeks pregnant.

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