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Associations between fruit and vegetables intake and abnormal glucose tolerance among women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus

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Abstract

Purpose

Women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at higher risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between fruit and vegetables (FV) intake and abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT) among women with prior GDM.

Methods

A total of 281 women with prior GDM have been recruited a mean of 6 years after their pregnancy in this cohort study. FV intake was obtained with a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Anthropometric and glycemic components were measured during their clinical visit and women were stratified according to normal glucose tolerance (NGT) or AGT.

Results

A cross-sectional analysis showed that a total of 155 women had NGT and 126 AGT. Women with AGT had significantly lower FV (6.5 ± 0.2) and vegetables servings (3.9 ± 0.2) and tended to have lower fruit servings (2.6 ± 0.2) than women with NGT (7.4 ± 0.2, 4.5 ± 0.2 and 3.0 ± 0.1, respectively) (p = 0.001, p = 0.04 and p = 0.10, respectively, adjusted for age and BMI). FV intake, per one serving increase, was associated with a reduced likelihood of having AGT [OR = 0.88 (0.81–0.97) after adjustment for age and BMI]. Vegetables or fruit intake tended to be associated with a reduced likelihood of having AGT [OR = 0.88 (0.78–1.00) and OR = 0.88 (0.76–1.02), respectively, after adjustment for age and BMI].

Conclusions

Higher intake of FV may be associated with a lower likelihood of AGT among women with prior GDM. Further studies are needed to confirm these results in this high-risk population.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to sincerely thank all participants for their participation. This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and by the Fonds de la recherche du Québec en santé (FRQ-S).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nutrition, Laval University, 2425 rue de l’Agriculture, Quebec City, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Roxanne Mercier & Julie Robitaille

  2. Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods (INAF), Laval University, 2440 boulevard Hochelaga, Quebec City, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Roxanne Mercier, Julie Perron & Julie Robitaille

  3. Endocrinology and Nephrology Axis, CHU de Québec Research Center, 2705 boulevard Laurier, Quebec City, G1V 4G2, Canada

    S. John Weisnagel & Julie Robitaille

  4. Diabetes Research Unit, Laval University Medical Research Center, 2705 boulevard Laurier, Quebec City, G1V 4G2, Canada

    S. John Weisnagel

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  1. Roxanne Mercier
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Correspondence to Julie Robitaille.

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Mercier, R., Perron, J., Weisnagel, S.J. et al. Associations between fruit and vegetables intake and abnormal glucose tolerance among women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus. Eur J Nutr 58, 689–696 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1669-2

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