Diet, physical activity and mental health status are associated with dysglycaemia in pregnancy: the Healthy Start Study.

AIMS: To examine the association between dysglycaemia and multiple modifiable factors measured during pregnancy.

METHODS: The Healthy Start Study collected self-reported data on modifiable factors in early and mid-pregnancy (median 17 and 27 weeks gestation, respectively) from 832 women. Women received one point for each modifiable factor for which they had optimum scores: diet quality (Healthy Eating Index score ≥64), physical activity level (estimated energy expenditure ≥170 metabolic equivalent task-h/week), and mental health status (Perceived Stress Scale score <6 and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score <13). Dysglycaemia during pregnancy was defined as an abnormal glucose challenge result, ≥1 abnormal results on an oral glucose tolerance test, or a clinical diagnosis of gestational diabetes. Logistic regression models estimated odds ratios for dysglycaemia as a function of each factor and the total score, adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, pre-pregnancy BMI, history of gestational diabetes, and family history of Type 2 diabetes.

RESULTS: In individual analyses, only physical activity was significantly associated with a reduced risk of dysglycaemia (adjusted odds ratio 0.67, 95% CI 0.44-1.00). We observed a significant, dose-response association between increasing numbers of optimal factors and odds of dysglycaemia (adjusted P=0.01). Compared with having no optimal modifiable factors, having all three was associated with a 73% reduced risk of dysglycaemia (adjusted odds ratio 0.27, 95% CI 0.08-0.95).

CONCLUSIONS: An increasing number of positive modifiable factors in pregnancy was associated with a dose-response reduction in risk of dysglycaemia. Our results support the hypothesis that modifiable factors in pregnancy are associated with the risk of prenatal dysglycaemia.