(560) Association between a Healthy Plant-Based Diet and adverse pregnancy outcomes

Thursday, January 30, 2025

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Submitting Author and Presenting Author(s)

McKenzie K. Jancsura, PhD, RN

Assistant Professor
The Ohio State University College of Nursing
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Coauthor(s)

William A. Grobman, MBA, MD

Professor
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States
JW

Jiqiang Wu, MSc

The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States
MW

Michael Wirth, MPH, PhD

University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina, United States
DH

David M. Haas, MD, MS

Attending Physician
Indiana University School of Medicine
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
RS

Robert M. Silver, MD

University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
George R. Saade, MD (he/him/his)

Professor and Chair, Associate Dean for Women's Health Obstetrics and Gynecology
Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Judith H. Chung, MD

Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of California- Irvine
Irvine, California, United States
Lynn M. Yee, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Kartik K. Venkatesh, MD, PhD (he/him/his)

Associate Professor
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Objective: We determined whether a healthy plant-based diet in early pregnancy was associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs).

Study Design: This is a secondary analysis of data from the prospective Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study-Monitoring Mothers-to-Be (nuMoM2b) cohort. We calculated Healthy Plant-Based Diet Index (hPDI) scores from a validated food-frequency questionnaire in the first trimester. Healthy plant-based foods (e.g., whole grains, seed oils, vegetables) were assigned positive scores and unhealthy plant foods (e.g., refined grains, sugar sweetened beverages) and animal foods (e.g., meat, dairy) received negative scores. The hPDI was categorized in quartiles from quartile 1 (Q1, least plant-based) to Q4 (most plant-based). The outcomes were: small-for-gestational-age [< 10^th percentile, SGA], large-for-gestational-age [> 90^th percentile, LGA]), hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP), gestational diabetes (GDM), and preterm birth (PTB) < 37 weeks. APOs were evaluated individually. Modified Poisson regression models adjusted for age, income, education, and health insurance. Secondarily, we assessed whether the above associations varied by adequate neighborhood food access, determined using the USDA Food Atlas).

Results:

Among 7,981 nulliparous individuals with dietary and outcome data, those who were in the highest quartile of a healthy plant-based diet were at a lower risk of developing HDP (11.0% vs 15.1%; aRR 0.76; 95% CI 0.62 to 0.94) and GDM (3.4% vs 4.1%; aRR 0.64; 95% CI 0.44 to 0.92) compared with those in the lowest quartile. The above associations did not vary by neighborhood food access (interaction p-value=0.31 for HDP and 0.52 for GDM in adjusted models). A healthy plant-based diet was not associated with SGA, LGA, or PTB (TABLE).

Conclusion:

A healthy plant-based diet in early pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of developing HDP and GDM in nulliparous individuals, after accounting for potential socioeconomic confounders. Findings suggest the potential benefits of a plant-based diet in early pregnancy and warrant further study.