Maternal Dietary Patterns and Their Association with Pregnancy Outcomes

Maternal nutritional status during pregnancy will affect the outcomes for the mother and the newborn. Maternal diet was assessed in 150 pregnant women during the first trimester of pregnancy by a 168-item food frequency questionnaire. Dietary patterns were explored by Factor analysis, and association of patterns with maternal and neonatal outcomes such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), anemia and anthropometric indices were determined by analysis of variance and linear regression analysis. Three major dietary patterns were identified: 1) High Carbohydrate-Lower Fat (mean age, 27.67 ± 6.1; n = 34), 2) High Carbohydrate-Higher Fat (27.70 ± 4.1; n = 55), and 3) High Fiber (29.27 ± 5.8; n = 61). A significant difference was observed between maternal dietary patterns (p < 0.01) for GDM, while it was not significant for anemia. Also, the number of preterm and low birth weight (LBM) infants as well as mean weight, height and head circumference of the infants did not differ significantly between patterns, but there was a significant difference between the maternal dietary patterns about the number of macrosomic babies, which was higher in the second (n = 9) and third (n = 9) dietary patterns (p < 0.01). After adjusting for mothers' age, disease history, disease status, and energy intake, High Carbohydrate-Lower Fat dietary pattern was more associated with GDM than crude model (p = 0.01 vs. p = 0.02). The present study indicated a significant relationship between maternal dietary patterns before pregnancy and GDM and fetal macrosomia.

Dietary Intake of Thiamine in Migraine Patients and Healthy Subjects: a Case-Control Study

The migraine headache is a disease related to the neurovascular system, which affects 10%–20% of people, worldwide. Recent evidences suggested a relation between thiamine status and migraine headaches. The current study was undertaken to assess dietary intake of the thiamine in migraine patients and to evaluate its association with the frequency of migraine attacks. In a case-control design, the current study was performed on 50 migraine patients and 50 healthy people, 20–60 years old in Isfahan, Iran, in 2017. Information about dietary intake was collected by Food frequency questionnaire and analyzed using the Nutritionist version 4 (N4) software (Tinuviel Software). Information about the history of disease was collected by demographic questionnaire. Analysis of covariance and independent t-test were used for data analysis and p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Mean age, weight, height, and body mass index of participants were 35.1 ± 9.8 years, 65.3 ± 10.4 kg, 162.5 ± 8.4 cm, and 24.7 ± 4.0 kg/m², respectively. Dietary intake of thiamine among the migraine patients was lower than that in the healthy participants (p < 0.001). Migraine patients with the high frequency attacks had significantly lower intake of thiamine compared with moderate frequency attacks group (p = 0.010), however, it was not significant after adjusting for energy intake (p = 0.410, p = 0.240). Dietary intake of thiamine in migraine patients was not significantly different in comparing with healthy subjects. In addition, no significant correlation between thiamine intake and the frequency of migraine attacks was observed.

Celiac disease, gluten-free diet, and bone mass density

Background: Celiac disease [CD], as an autoimmune disease has initiated since ingestion of food containing gluten. Constant intolerance to gluten causes damages of the small intestinal mucosa. One reason of mal-absorption in children and infants is CD. Additionally, about 75% of newly identified patients with CD have low bone mineral density [BMD]. Many factors have role in metabolic bone diseases, such as disturbance in calcium absorption, consumption of endogenous calcium, fecal loss, damaged to vitamin D absorption, and inflammatory mediators. The gluten free diet [GFD] is the only efficacious treatment for CD. Low BMD which is a prevalent problem of untreated CD may be restored by GFD

Methods: Databases of PubMed, Web of science, Google scholar, Scopus and Embase were searched by the following keywords: CD and GFD, CD and BMD, GFD and children up to July 2016

Results: Most children with CD already have reduced bone mass density before treatment with GFD. GFD caused normal bone mineral density in most of celiac children and adolescent. The treatment duration for restoration of bone mass was not obvious. There were no similar time points for all patients, thus the duration of treatment was different. There was a relationship between age of patients at diagnosis and therapeutic intervention and recovery of BMD; older children may have slower grades of improvement

Conclusions: GFD has an important role in bone health. If CD is diagnosed and managed before adolescence, children with CD may achieve normal bone mass

Adiponectin Concentration in Gestational Diabetic Women: a Case-Control Study

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an impaired fasting glucose condition during pregnancy. Adiponectin is a polypeptide hormone that is extensively released by adipocytes which regulates energy homeostasis and carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. In addition, adiponectin has antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of our research was to study about the relationship of adiponectin levels to GDM and glucose intolerance. We selected 25 GDM women and 35 healthy pregnant subjects (18–46 years) who were screened between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation based on the result of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). We designed a case-control study and measured the concentrations of serum adiponectin and compared the concentrations between the groups. Serum adiponectin concentration was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sociodemographic data were collected by personal interview. Serum adiponectin concentrations were significantly lower in the subjects with GDM (5.10 ± 2.15 ng/mL vs. 7.86 ± 3.52 ng/mL, p = 0.001) than in healthy pregnant subjects. The mean concentration of fasting blood glucose was considerably lower in control subjects (86.9 ± 9.0 mg/dL vs. 175.9 ± 20.1 mg/dL, p < 0.001) in comparison to GDM subjects. Our findings showed that serum concentrations of adiponectin were significantly lower in gestational diabetic women and this may help to predict the risk of GDM.

Dietary Antioxidant Capacity and Its Association with Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the major disorders in pregnancy leading to many adverse maternal outcomes. Although the etiology of PE is not fully understood, resent studies suggest that an imbalance between free radicals production and the antioxidant defense system might have key role. Our aim of the current study was to evaluate the association between dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC), serum TAC and risk of PE in women with preeclampsia and normal pregnancy. This case-control study conducted on 55 women with preeclampsia and 93 with normal pregnancy. Dietary intakes were obtained by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with 168 itmes. Dietary TAC was assessed according to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Database for oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), Release 2. Serum TAC was measured by a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunesorbent assay (ELISA). After adjusting for energy, pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI) and history of PE, no relationship was found between intake of hydrophilic-ORAC (H-ORAC), lipophilic-ORAC (L-ORAC), total phenolics (TP), total-ORAC (T-ORAC), and PE risk. However, serum TAC had a significant positive relationship with the risk of PE after adjusting for energy (odds ratio [OR], 0.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16–0.35), BMI and history of PE (OR, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01–0.32). Findings of this study indicate that serum TAC is positively associated with the risk of PE but no association was found between intake of antioxidant indices and PE risk.

Antioxidant Status and Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: a Case-Control Study

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is described as glucose intolerance diagnosed during pregnancy. Increased oxidative stress has implicated in diabetic problems. The aim of the current study was to compare antioxidant capacity and antioxidant nutrient intake between women with GDM (n = 40) and healthy pregnant women (n = 40). Demographic and obstetrics data were completed using interview technique and dietary intakes by using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with 168 items. The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of serum was assessed by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA) method. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to compare independent variables and other potential risk factors between 2 groups. The results showed that TAC concentration of serum in women with GDM was significantly lower than in healthy pregnant women (2.3 ± 0.7 vs. 3.7 ± 0.1 µmol/L, p < 0.001). Intakes of vitamin E (11.8 + 3.1 vs. 16.2 + 3.1 mg, p < 0.001), selenium (81 ± 26 vs. 95 ± 36 µg, p < 0.05) and zinc (7.4 ± 1.9 vs. 9.1 ± 1.7 mg, p < 0.001) were significantly lower in women with GDM as compared to healthy pregnant women. In contrast, the groups showed no significant difference in vitamin C, β-carotene, selenium, fruit, and vegetable intake. Our findings showed that antioxidant capacity is lower in women with GDM, possibly related to lower intakes of vitamin E and zinc.

Erratum: Dietary Antioxidant Capacity and Its Association with Preeclampsia

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Vitamin D and hypertension

Nowadays, hypertension is one of the most important causes of death all over the world because of its adverse effects on cardiovascular system. For this reason its study is very valuable. Vitamin D is one of the important factors that may influence blood pressure. Many studies have shown the modulatory effect of this vitamin on rennin-angiotensin system as well as its inhibitory effect on vascular smooth muscle hypertrophy. According to the fact that vitamin receptors are distributed in almost all organs of human body, we can't consider its role just as factor in calcium homeostasis. Therefore many other important roles could be attributed to it. So vitamin D deficiency could arise many problems. There are many causes for vitamin D deficiency. The most important is insufficient exposure to UV-B. In epidemiological studies the vitamin D deficiency is considered to be associated with high blood pressure, as emphasized in many cross-sectional studies. Concerning the cohort prospective studies, the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension is reported in some cases. The interventional studies about the association between vitamin D and hypertension are not many and the results are different or contradictory. Controversial results might be due to differences in dose of supplements or duration of supplement therapy. The aim of this systematic review is to assess the researches about the association between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension and discuss the power of them. This can be helpful to lighten the path to prospective investigations

effects of quercetin supplementation on body composition, exercise performance and muscle damage indices in athletes

Flavonoids comprise a large group of plant metabolites, 6,000 of which have been identified to date. Some studies have shown the increased aerobic performance and maximal oxygen consumption [VO[2max]] and therefore fitness following quercetin intake as a result of elevated number of intracellular mitochondria caused by the flavonoid. This double-blind clinical trial comprised 60 male students having an athletic history of at least 3 years. Body composition, exercise performance, and some blood biomarkers were analyzed. The individuals were selected by convenient sampling, and then were assigned into four groups of equal number by using permuted block randomization. The first to fourth groups received a 500 mg supplemental quercetin capsule plus a 250 mg vitamin C pill, a 500 mg supplemental quercetin capsule plus a 250 mg placebo vitamin C pill, a 500 mg placebo quercetin capsule plus a 250 mg vitamin C pill, and a 500 mg placebo quercetin capsule plus a 250 mg placebo vitamin C pill, respectively, daily for 8 weeks. The participants were asked to continue their routine diet and physical activity during the study and they were monitored through phone calls or text messages. Lean body mass, total body water, basal metabolic rate, and total energy expenditure increased significantly in the quercetin group after intervention. On the other hand, VO[2max] increased in the "quercetin" and "quercetin + vitamin C" groups following the intervention, non-significantly. Our findings suggest that supplementation with quercetin in athletes may improve some indices of performance

Major dietary patterns and their associations with overweight and obesity among Iranian children

Increasing prevalence of obesity is a major health concern. Lifestyle behaviors and diet play an important role in developing childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to determine the association between major dietary patterns and overweight/obesity in a group of Iranian school-aged children. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Isfahan, Iran with 637 elementary school-aged children. A semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire was used to assess usual dietary intakes. Data on socio-demographic, physical activity and other lifestyle habits were collected using standard questionnaires. Obesity was determined based on national cut-offs. Factor analysis was used for identifying major dietary patterns. Three major dietary patterns were extracted; "Healthy," "Western," and "Sweet-Dairy." After adjusting for confounders, girls in the second quartile of healthy pattern, were more likely to be overweight [odds ratio [OR] =2.23, Confidence intervals [CI] =1.003, 4.96] compared to those in the highest quartile. Likelihood of being overweight was lower for girls in the second quartile of western dietary pattern versus the fourth quartile [OR = 0.46, CI = 0.21, 1.01]. Accordingly, lower adherence to sweet and dairy pattern was associated with lower body mass index [BMI] among girls [OR = 0.42, CI = 0.21, 0.85]. There was no significant relationship between western and sweet-dairy pattern with BMI among boys, however, significant association was observed between lowest and highest quartiles of healthy pattern [OR = 0.36, CI = 0.15, 0.84]. We found significant associations between the three dietary patterns and obesity among girls. Only healthy pattern was related to weight status of schoolboys. Longitudinal studies will be needed to confirm these associations

effect of Omega-3 supplements on antioxidant capacity in patients with type 2 diabetes

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in which antioxidant capacity changes. Omega-3 fatty acids have extensive biological effects including their advantage on lipoprotein metabolism, platelet function, cytokine production, clotting, fibrinolysis, and inflammatory factors. This study aimed to investigate the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplements on antioxidant capacity in patients with type 2 diabetes. This clinical trial enrolled 71 women with type 2 diabetes in two case [treated with omega-3 capsules] and control [treated with placebo] groups. In the first stage, participants filled out a demographics questionnaire including age, height, weight, waist circumference, and hip circumference. Their blood sample was taken to evaluate glycosylated hemoglobin and antioxidant capacity. Then the case group received intervention for 8 weeks and weight, waist circumference, and hip circumference were measured and a blood sample was taken again. The data were analyzed using SPSS 18 software. The mean difference of antioxidant capacity before and after intervention was significant [P < 0.001]. Antioxidant capacity increased in the case group and reduced in the control group. With regard to the results of the present study, patients with type 2 diabetes increase their antioxidant capacity, enhance their antioxidant defense system, and probably prevent diabetes complications and related disease progress by taking omega-3 supplements

Dietary determinants of pregnancy induced hypertension in Isfahan

Pregnancy-induced hypertension [PIH] is a pregnancy-specific condition that occurs after the 20th week of gestation. These physiologic changes can be aggravated by undernutrition. There are some evidence based on the importance of nutrient deficiency in developing this syndrome. Therefore, the aim of present study was to determine the nutritional risk factors for pregnancy induced hypertension in a group of pregnant women in Isfahan. In this case-control study, we recruited 46 Isfahanian pregnant women in two groups [with and without PIH]. They were 19 to 45 year-old and they did not consume any antihypertensive or diuretic medications. Demographic questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire were filled in both groups. There were no significant differences in energy and vitamin E and C intakes between the two groups. Zinc and calcium intakes were lower in women with PIH compared to those without PIH [P = 0.04 and P = 0.007, respectively]. Riboflavin and protein intakes were lower in women with PIH compared to subjects without PIH [P = 0.03 and P = 0.01, respectively]. Lower intake of calcium, zinc, riboflavin and protein should be considered as possible risk factors for PIH. Adequate intake of dairy products which are good sources of mentioned nutrients are recommended to prevent PIH