Dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium and calcium in relation to the risk of preeclampsia

To explore the relation between preeclampsia risk and maternal intake of dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium and calcium. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a case-control study of 172 preeclamptics and 339 normotensive controls. Maternal dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression procedures were used to estimate the association between each dietary factor and preeclampsia risk. RESULTS: Fiber intake was inversely associated with the risk of preeclampsia. When extreme quartiles of total fiber intake were compared, the odds ratio (OR) for preeclampsia was 0.46 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23-0.92). The multivariate OR for preeclampsia for women in the top quartile of potassium intake (>4.1 g/d) versus the lowest quartile (<2.4 g/d) was 0.49 (95% CI 0.24-0.99). There was some evidence of a reduced risk of preeclampsia with a high intake of magnesium and calcium, though these results were not statistically significant. Intake of fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, total cereal and dark bread were each associated with a reduced risk of preeclampsia. CONCLUSION: Our results support previous reports that suggest that diets high in fiber and potassium are associated with a reduced risk of hypertension. Maternal intake of recommended amounts of foods rich in fiber, potassium and other nutrients may reduce the risk of preeclampsia.

Maternal obesity in females born small: pregnancy complications and offspring disease risk

Obesity is a major public health crisis, with 1.6 billion adults worldwide being classified as overweight or obese in 2014. Therefore, it is not surprising that the number of women who are overweight or obese at the time of conception is increasing. Obesity during pregnancy is associated with the development of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. The developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis proposes that perturbations during critical stages of development can result in adverse fetal changes, which leads to an increased risk of developing diseases in adulthood. Of particular concern, children born to obese mothers are at a greater risk of developing cardiometabolic disease. One subset of the population who are predisposed to developing obesity are children born small for gestational age, which occurs in 10% of pregnancies worldwide. Epidemiological studies report that these growth restricted children have an increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, obesity and hypertension. Importantly during pregnancy, growth restricted females have a higher risk of developing cardiometabolic disease, indicating that they may have an exacerbated phenotype if they are also overweight or obese. Thus the development of early pregnancy interventions targeted to obese mothers may prevent their children from developing cardiometabolic disease in adulthood. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.