(HealthDay News) — A dietary pattern of solid fats, refined grains, and cheese is associated with increased odds of any hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and preeclampsia, according to a study published online in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Luis E. Maldonado, PhD, MPH, from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues conducted a prospective pregnancy cohort study involving 451 predominantly low-income Hispanic/Latina women who completed up to two 24-hour dietary recalls in the third trimester of pregnancy. The associations of 2 previously derived dietary patterns in this population (solid fats, refined grains, and cheese and vegetables, oils, and fruit) and the Healthy Eating Index 2015 were examined with gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and any hypertensive disorder of pregnancy.
The researchers found that the solid fats, refined grains, and cheese dietary pattern was associated with increased odds of any hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and preeclampsia when comparing highest to lowest quartiles (odds ratios, 3.99 and 4.10, respectively), while reduced odds of preeclampsia were seen in association with the vegetables, oils, and fruit pattern (odds ratio, 0.32). Inverse associations of vegetables, oils, and fruit and the Healthy Eating Index 2015 with preeclampsia were more pronounced among the overweight prepregnancy body mass index category. Findings for the Healthy Eating Index 2015 were generally nonsignificant.
“Our study contributes novel data and provides direction for dietary counseling for the prevention of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy among a high-risk population,” the authors write.