Comparing Dietary Patterns during Pregnancy in Women with Preeclampsia and Healthy Women: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Background: Diet and nutritional deficiencies during pregnancy are considered among the significant factors inducing preeclampsia in women. the present study aimed to identify major dietary patterns in women affected with preeclampsia. Methods: The convenience sampling technique was also recruited to select the samples in the case group (namely, women with preeclampsia) from hospitalized individuals with a definite diagnosis of preeclampsia, and those in the control group (viz. healthy subjects) out of pregnant women without preeclampsia referred to the midwifery clinics and the maternity wards of the given hospitals to receive prenatal care. The data analysis was also performed using the SPSS Statistics software (ver. 22) together with Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test, and Fisher’s exact test. The p-value˂0.05 was also considered significant. Results: there was a significant difference between both study groups with regard to fast-food consumption (p=0.068), which was higher in the case group, but 54% of the individuals placed in the control group had never used fast food during pregnancy. A statistically significant difference was additionally observed considering the intakes of vegetables (p=0.005), carbonated soft drinks (p=0.002), and table salt (p=0.005) (p<0.05). Conclusion: Lower consumption rates of vegetables and increased frequency of fast food, carbonated soft drinks, and table salt intake were also associated with the incidence of this condition. Therefore, encouraging and promoting healthy eating habits and dietary patterns during pregnancy can effectively prevent preeclampsia.