Lower dietary vitamin E intake during the second trimester is associated with insulin resistance and hyperglycemia later in pregnancy

Abstract

Beneficial effects of vitamin E on insulin sensitivity have been reported in observational and short-term intervention studies in non-pregnant populations. We aimed to investigate whether dietary vitamin E intake during the second trimester would be associated with glucose metabolism later in pregnancy and whether this association would be influenced by an insulin-sensitizing hormone adiponectin. Women with singleton pregnancies (n=205) underwent a 3-h oral glucose tolerance test at 30 weeks gestation and were asked to recall second trimester dietary intake. Higher dietary vitamin E intake was associated with lower fasting glucose, lower HOMA insulin resistance, and higher Matsuda insulin sensitivity index after covariate adjustment including serum adiponectin among women consuming daily multivitamin supplements (all P≤0.03). Lower dietary vitamin E intake during the second trimester is associated with hyperglycemia and insulin resistance later in pregnancy among women consuming daily multivitamin supplementations. Further, these associations are not influenced by adiponectin.