ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the association of maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in northern China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The dietary intakes of pregnant women were recorded twice by 24-hour dietary recalls for three days prior to having been diagnosed with GDM, at 5-15 and 24-28 gestational weeks, respectively. GDM was diagnosed, and serum glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was measured at 24-28 weeks. Dietary patterns were assessed by factor analysis. The association of the dietary pattern with GDM and HbA1c was examined by multiple logistic models.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of 753 participants, 64 (8.5%) were diagnosed with GDM. Four dietary patterns were identified: Western pattern (dairy, baked/fried food and white meat), traditional pattern (light-colored vegetables, fine grain, red meat and tubers), mixed pattern (edible fungi, shrimp/shellfish and red meat) and prudent pattern (dark-colored vegetables and deep-sea fish). Compared with the prudent pattern, both the Western pattern and the traditional pattern were associated with an increased risk of GDM (aOR = 4.40, 95% CI: 1.58-12.22; aOR = 4.88, 95% CI: 1.79-13.32) and a high level of HbA1c (aOR = 12.37, 95% CI: 1.47-103.91; aOR = 26.23, 95% CI: 2.54-270.74). Compared to the lowest quartile (Q), Q3 of the Western pattern scores and Q3-Q4 of the traditional pattern scores were associated with a higher risk of GDM.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The consumption of the Western pattern or the traditional pattern during pregnancy may increase the risk of GDM.</p>
ABSTRACT
Absorption at the level of the intestine is likely a primary regulatory mechanism for the deposition of dietary supplemented folic acid into the chicken egg. Therefore, factors affecting the intestinal transport of folic acid in the laying hen may influence the level of egg folate concentrations. To this end, a series of experiments using intestinal everted sacs were conducted to characterize intestinal folic acid absorption processes in laying hens. Effects of naturally occurring folate derivatives (5-methyl and 10-formyltetrahydrofolate) as well as heme on folic acid absorption were also investigated. Folic acid absorption was measured based on the rate of uptake of (3)H-labeled folic acid in the everted sac from various segments of the small and large intestines. Folic acid concentration, incubation length, and pH condition were optimized before the performance of uptake experiments. The distribution profile of folic acid transport along the intestine was highest in the upper half of the small intestine. Maximum uptake rate (nmol·100 g tissue(-1)·min(-1)) was observed in the duodenum (20.6 ± 1.9) and jejunum (22.3 ± 2.0) and decreased significantly in the ileum (15.3 ± 1.1) and cecum (9.3 ± 0.9). Transport increased proportionately (P < 0.05) between 0.0001 and 0.1 µM folic acid. Above 0.1 µM, the slope of the regression line was not significantly different from zero (P < 0.137). Folic acid uptake in the jejunum showed a maximum rate of transport at pH 6.0, but was lowest at pH 7.5. The presence of 5-methyl and 10-formyltetrahydrofolate as well as heme impeded folic acid uptake, reducing intestinal folic acid absorption when added at concentrations ranging from 0 to 100 µM. Overall, these data indicated the presence of a folic acid transport system in the entire intestine of the laying hen. Uptake of folic acid in the cecum raises the likelihood of absorption of bacterial-derived folate.
