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Maternal, Perinatal and Pediatric Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P27-048-25) Maternal Diet Quality Is Positively Associated With Cardiometabolic Health in Pregnant Women but Not in Lactating Women

Monday, June 2, 2025
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board A-50

    Presenting Author(s)

  • SK

    Seunghee Kim, MS

    PhD Candidate
    Chonnam National University
    Gwangju, Kwangju-jikhalsi, Republic of Korea

    • Co-Author(s)

  • CP

    Clara Yongjoo Park, PhD

    Chonnam National University
    Gwangju, Kwangju-jikhalsi, Republic of Korea

Disclosure(s):
Seunghee Kim, MS: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: To assess associations of maternal diet quality (DQ) with cardiometabolic health during pregnancy and breastfeeding among normotensive normoglycemic Korean women.

Methods: Pregnant women (n=299) and lactating women (n=410) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2023 were included. Maternal DQ was assessed using the Korean Healthy Eating Index (KHEI) score. Macronutrient energy distribution was also examined. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (S/DBP) and fasting serum samples including glucose, HbA1c, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol were measured. The associations between these cardiometabolic health measures and maternal DQ were evaluated using multiple linear regression model adjusting for confounders. Nonlinearity was ascertained using Restricted Cubic Spline functions. Analyses were stratified by trimester for pregnant women and menstrual status for lactating women.

Results: The overall DQ among participants was moderate (mean KHEI score: 57.1 for pregnant women; 57.6 for lactating women). During the second trimester of pregnancy, maternal DQ was inversely associated with DBP (β: -0.147; 95% CI: -0.274 to -0.021) and fasting glucose (β: -0.148; 95% CI: -0.256 to -0.040). During lactation, maternal DQ was not associated with any of the measured cardiometabolic health measures. When stratified by menstrual status, overall DQ was associated with fasting HbA1c in lactating women with resumed menstruation (β: -0.005; 95% CI: -0.009 to -0.001). Furthermore, high carbohydrate intake (over 60% of energy) was not associated with any cardiometabolic health measure during pregnancy and lactation.

Conclusions: Overall high-quality diet is associated with better cardiometabolic health during mid- pregnancy. High carbohydrate consumption of pregnant and lactating women is not associated with cardiometabolic health.

Funding Sources: National Research Foundation of Korea, Korean Society of Cardiometabolic Syndrome