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

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.