Diet during pregnancy: Ultra-processed foods and the inflammatory potential of diet

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the food consumption of pregnant women and the degree of industrial processing using the Energy-Adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DII).

This was a cross-sectional study of 237 women in the immediate postpartum period, ages 19 to 43. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, and food consumption information related to the gestational period were collected. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to determine the contribution of each food processing category to the energetic consumption. Using the calculation of the E-DII score (divided into quartiles), 27 dietary parameters were considered. Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, and χ² tests, as well as ordinal multinomial logistic regression models, were used.

The increase in E-DII score was associated with an increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods (quartile 1: 10.42% [0.00%-44.63%] < quartile 4: 34.17% [2.72%-74.90%]; P < 0.001) and a reduction in the consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods (quartile 1: 64.59% [34.08%-88.32%] > quartile 4: 44.64% [16.15%-70.59%]; P < 0.001). In the final regression model, women classified in the fourth quartile (most proinflammatory) were more likely to have a higher consumption of ultra-processed (odds ratio: 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.20) and processed products (odds ratio: 1.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.13). There was no association with gestational, sociodemographic, and maternal nutritional status information.

The increase in the consumption of foods with a higher degree of processing is associated with a more proinflammatory potential of the maternal diet.