Association between mediterranean diet during pregnancy and gestational weight gain: a prospective cohort study

Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) elevated risks of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, macrosomia, and infant mortality. This study investigated the relationship between the Mediterranean diet score (MDS) and GWG in Iranian pregnant women. We prospectively included 243 Iranian pregnant women aged 18–44 in Tehran. We assessed dietary intake through a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) in the third trimester. Physical activity was measured by the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ). Cox proportional hazard models were employed to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for inappropriate, inadequate, and excessive GWG by tertiles of MDS. During an average follow-up period of 3.86 weeks, 60, 99, and 159 cases of inadequate, excessive, and inappropriate GWG were recorded, respectively. We did not find any significant association between MDS and inadequate [HR, 0.69 (95% confidence interval: 0.35 to 1.37); P-trend = 0.303)], excessive [HR, 1.51 (0.91 to 2.49); P-trend = 0.120)], and inappropriate [HR, 1.18 (0.79 to 1.76); P-trend = 0.435)] GWG in the fully-adjusted model. Our findings indicated that MDS was not significantly associated with the risk of inappropriate, inadequate, and excessive GWG. Additional cohort studies with larger sample sizes and varied populations are needed to confirm these results.