Dietary risk factors for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

To assess whether diet quality and specific dietary components are associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP).

Nested case control study in a prospectively collected cohort of 450 participants with singleton pregnancies who completed the National Institutes of Health Diet Health Questionnaire II (DHQ-II) in the third trimester or within 3 months of delivery. Patients with fetal anomalies, conception by in-vitro fertilization, and deliveries at outside hospitals were excluded from the original prospective cohort study. Cases were patients diagnosed with HDP and controls were patients without HDP. Cases and controls were matched by BMI class in a 1:2 ratio. Exposures of interest were HEI-2015 score components and other DHQ-II dietary components including minerals, caffeine, and water. These dietary components were compared between cohorts using univariate analyses.

HEI-2015 total scores representing diet quality, component scores, and objective background data between patients with HDP and patients without HDP.

150 patients with HDP were matched to 300 controls without HDP. Baseline demographics were similar between groups, including BMI. Patients with HDP were less likely to have high quality diets (HEI ≥ 70) than controls (7.3 % v 15.7 %, P = 0.02). HDP were associated with significantly higher dairy, saturated fat, and sodium intake compared to controls. Other components were similar between groups.

Patients with HDP are more likely to have lower diet quality and higher consumption of sodium, dairy, and saturated fats. These results can be used to study antenatal diet modification in patients at high risk of HDP.