Mediterranean Diet and Lifestyle Habits during Pregnancy: Is There an Association with Small for Gestational Age Infants? An Italian Single Centre Experience

Background. The small-for-gestational-age (SGA) in infants is related to an increased risk of developing Non-Communicable Diseases later in life. The Mediterranean diet (MD) is related to lower odds of being SGA. The study explored retrospectively the association between SGA, maternal MD adherence, lifestyle habits and other SGA risk factors during pregnancy. Methods. One hundred women (16-44 years) with a pregnancy at term were enrolled. Demographic data, parity, pre-gestational BMI, gestational weight gain, pregnancy-related diseases, and type of delivery were collected. The MD adherence (MEDI-LITE score >= 9), physical activity level, and smoking/alcohol consumption were registered. SGA neonates were diagnosed according to the neonatal growth curves. Results. Women were divided into SGA group vs. non-SGA group. The MD was adopted by 71% of women and its adherence was higher in the non-SGA group (p = 0.02). The prevalence of pregnancy-related diseases (gestational diabetes/pregnancy-induced hypertension) was higher in the SGA group (p = 0.01). The logistic regression showed that pregnancy-related diseases were the only independent risk factor for SGA. Conclusions. MD may indirectly reduce the risk of SGA since it prevents and exerts a positive effect on pregnancy-related diseases (e.g., gestational diabetes and hypertension). The small sample size of women in the SGA group of the study imposes a major limitation to the results and conclusions of this research, suggesting however that it is worthy of further investigation.

Automated summary

High adherence to the Mediterranean diet in pregnant women is associated with a lower risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants and is related to pregnancy-related diseases (such as gestational diabetes and hypertension). Further investigation with a larger sample size is warranted.