The association of dietary total antioxidant capacity and gestational diabetes: a prospective cohort study from the Mothers and their children's health (MATCH)

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: There is evidence that diets rich in antioxidants may protect against gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This study investigated the association between dietary total antioxidant capacity (DTAC) during early pregnancy and risk of GDM. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We included 1856 first-trimester pregnant women from the Mothers and their Children's Health (MATCH) prospective cohort. Prepregnancy dietary intake was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to calculate DTAC (FRAP method). Incident GDM was diagnosed per American Diabetes Association criteria. Associations between DTAC and GDM were estimated using propensity score-based inverse probability weighting (IPW). RESULTS: Overall, 369 women developed GDM. Mean DTAC was 2.82 ± 2.56 mmol/100 g (range 0.01–18.55). In fully adjusted models, risk of GDM decreased by 34% per 1 SD increase in DTAC (aRR 0.66, 95% CI 0.48–0.90, p = 0.023). Women in the highest DTAC quartile had a lower risk of GDM versus the lowest quartile (aRR 0.29, 95% CI 0.12–0.68, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Higher DTAC in early pregnancy is significantly associated with lower GDM risk. Larger cohort studies are needed to validate these findings.