Longitudinal study on the relationship between DASH-style dietary pattern and allostatic load in Chinese pregnant...

Unhealthy diets are associated with chronic stress. An allostatic load (AL) is a comprehensive physiological index that measures the chronic stress response of the body. As a healthy dietary pattern, the role of Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) in the development of an AL during pregnancy remains unclear. This study examined the relationship between the DASH dietary pattern and AL during pregnancy.

This study was a prospective study. From January 2024 to November 2024, 134 pregnant women in the second trimester (23-27 weeks) and third trimester (32-36 weeks) of pregnancy who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria in the obstetrics clinic of a tertiary general hospital in Anhui Province were selected for a questionnaire survey, physical examination, and laboratory examination. The DASH dietary pattern was assessed using the DASH scoring tool, and the total AL score was calculated using nine biomarkers that represent the cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune systems. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between the DASH score and AL.

One hundred and thirty-four pregnant women were included in this study. At the second and third trimesters, 41.8% and 37% of pregnant women, respectively, were in the high AL group. The binary logistic regression results showed that the DASH score was negatively correlated with the AL in the unadjusted model (odds ratio [OR], 0.878; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.807-0.957; P = 0.003) and adjusted model (OR, 0.878; 95% CI, 0.792-0.973; P = 0.013) in the second trimester, the DASH score was negatively correlated with the AL in the unadjusted model (OR, 0.832; 95% CI, 0.758-0.913; P < 0.001) and adjusted model (OR, 0.806; 95% CI, 0.716-0.908; P < 0.001) in the third trimester.

The DASH score was negatively correlated with the AL in pregnant women. A low DASH score may increase the risk of a high AL, which may have adverse effects on physical and mental health.

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Identifier: ChiCTR2400089344.