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. 2024 Dec 3;16(12):e75038.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.75038. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Association of Dietary Patterns and Pre-pregnancy Body Mass Indices With Gestational and Birth Outcomes in Pregnant Emirati Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Lolowa Almekhaini  1 , Shamsa A Awar  2 , Sania Al Hamad  1 , Fatmah Almesmari  1 , Maha Khaled  3 , Nehaya Qasem  4 , Fatima Bahwan  1 , Elhadi H Aburawi  1 , Hassib Narchi  1
Affiliations

Association of Dietary Patterns and Pre-pregnancy Body Mass Indices With Gestational and Birth Outcomes in Pregnant Emirati Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Lolowa Almekhaini et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background and aim: This cross-sectional, community-based study examined the association of dietary intake of pregnant Emirati women and their pre-pregnancy body mass index (pBMI) with maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Methods: The study was conducted at tertiary hospitals in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where 323 pregnant women reported their weekly dietary intake using the Arabic version of the food frequency questionnaire. Dietary patterns (DPs) were established using factor analysis of consumed foods followed by cluster analysis. Maternal pBMI was recorded within three months of the current pregnancy.

Results: Three hundred and twenty-three pregnant women were enrolled, with a median age of 28.6 years (range: 18-35). A high proportion were overweight (n=109, 34%) and 20.9% (n=67) were obese. Data was available for 306 infants who had a median gestational age of 38 weeks (range: 25-42), and the majority were full-term (n=255, 89.8%). The median birth weight was 3035 grams (range: 850-4185) with nine (3.8%) being small for gestational age. There were two distinct groups of maternal DPs: "natural ingredients" and "processed foods". There was no statistically significant association between DPs and maternal characteristics nor with their infants' characteristics. None of the maternal factors was significantly associated with the mode of delivery or maternal complication. Only maternal age was significantly associated with the one-minute Apgar score and the duration of neonatal stay in the hospital, while pre-pregnancy weight was significantly associated with neonatal weight Z-score, neonatal complications, and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit.

Conclusion: We found no significant difference in DPs among maternal pBMI groups nor in pregnancy or neonatal outcomes, possibly related to unmeasured confounders, such as maternal exercise, detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of macronutrient and micronutrient intake, and socioeconomic, genetic, or environmental factors. With the increasing rate of obesity and the changes in the dietary habits in our population, a periodical review of their resulting impact on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes is required to inform public health policies.

Keywords: diet; neonatal outcome; obesity; pregnancy; united arab emirates.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Tawam Human Research Ethics Committee issued approval THREC-627. The study was funded by the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (grant application number: NP-19-1). Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Scree plot of PCA results
The x-axis represents the principal components and the y-axis shows the corresponding eigenvalues which indicate the amount of variance explained by each principal component factor. The inflection (elbow) point of the plot (where the slope of the plot curve changes abruptly) corresponds to the eigenvalue of 1.0 (Kaiser criterion), which indicates the optimal number of components to retain. It corresponds in this plot to factor 3, with all factors to the left of it being retained for analysis PCA: principal component analysis
Figure 2
Figure 2. Food frequency questionnaire: English version
Figure 3
Figure 3. Food frequency questionnaire: English version (Cont.)
Figure 4
Figure 4. Food frequency questionnaire: English version (Cont.)
Figure 5
Figure 5. Food frequency questionnaire: English version (Cont.)
Figure 6
Figure 6. Food frequency questionnaire: English version (Cont.)
Figure 7
Figure 7. Food frequency questionnaire: English version (Cont.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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