Maternal dietary components in the development of gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review of observational studies to timely promotion of health

LAMBERT, VICTORIA; MUÑOZ, SONIA EDITH; GIL, CARLA; ROMÁN, MARÍA DOLORES

NUTRITION JOURNAL

BIOMED CENTRAL LTD

Año: 2023 vol. 22

1475-2891

AbstractBackground There is ample evidence that considers diet as an important factor in the prevention of gestational diabetesmellitus (GDM). The aim of this review is to synthesise the existing evidence on the relationship between GDMand maternal dietary components.Methods We performed a systematic bibliographic search in Medline, Latin American and Caribbean Health SciencesLiterature (Lilacs) and the Latin American Nutrition Archive (ALAN) of regional and local literature, limiting thesearches to observational studies published between 2016 and 2022. Search terms related to nutrients, foods, dietarypatterns and the relationship to GDM risk were used. The review included 44 articles, 12 of which were from America.The articles considered different topics about maternal dietary components as follows: 14 are about nutrient intake, 8about food intake, 4 combined nutrient and food analysis and 18 about dietary patterns.Results Iron, processed meat and a low carbohydrate diet were positively associated with GDM. Antioxidant nutrients,folic acid, fruits, vegetables, legumes and eggs were negatively associated with GDM. Generally, western dietarypatterns increase GDM risk, and prudent dietary patterns or plant-based diets decrease the risk.Conclusions Diet is considered one of the causes of GDM. However, there is no homogeneity in how people eat norin how researchers assess diet in different contextual conditions of the world.Keywords Pregnancy, Diet, Health promotion, Gestational diabetes mellitus