Dietary fat and gestational hyperglycaemia

Aims/hypothesis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between life-style habits and glucose abnormalities in Caucasian women with and without conventional risk factors for gestational diabetes. Methods. A total of 126 pregnant women with gestational diabetes. 84 with i mpaired glucose tolerance and 294 with normal glucose tolerance, identified by sequential screening, were interviewed to determine their usual weekly food pattern, amount of exercise, smoking habits and alcohol intake. Results. Patients with glucose abnormalities were older and shorter in heig ht and had significantly higher BMI before pregnancy, percentage of diabeti c first-degree relatives and higher intake of saturated fat. Patients witho ut known risk factors for gestational diabetes (i.e. younger than 35 years of age, BMI < 25 kg/m(2), no first-degree diabetic relatives) included 40 w ith impaired glucose tolerance or gestational diabetes. In a multiple logis tic regression model age, short stature, familial diabetes, BMI and percent ages of saturated fat were associated with impaired glucose tolerance or ge stational diabetes in all patients, after adjustment for gestational age. I n patients without conventional risk factors only percentages of saturated fat (OR = 2.0, 95%-CI = 1.2-3.2) and polyunsaturated fat (OR = 0.85; 95%-CI = 0.77-0.92) were associated with gestational hyperglycaemia, after adjust ment for age, gestational age and BMI. Conclusion/interpretation. Saturated fat has an independent role in the dev elopment of gestational glucose abnormalities. This role is more important in the absence of conventional risk factors suggesting that glucose abnorma lities could be prevented during pregnancy, at least in some groups of wome n.