Dietary patterns during pregnancy in relation to maternal dietary intake: The Mutaba’ah Study

Aim To relate adherence to healthy dietary patterns, evaluated by different dietary indices, to the intake of nutrients and food groups among pregnant women in the United Arab Emirates. Methods The analyses included 1122 pregnant women from the Mutaba’ah Study. Dietary intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. Adherence to three dietary pattern indices was assessed; Alternate Healthy Eating Index for Pregnancy (AHEI-P), Alternate Mediterranean Diet (aMED) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). Associations between adherence (score >median) to the three dietary indices and intake of nutrients and food groups were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Results Women with higher intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids, fiber, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts and lower intake of saturated fatty acids, red meat, and sweetened beverages had significantly higher odds of adherence to all three dietary patterns (p<0.05). Associations between intakes of nutrients and food groups with odds of adherence to the dietary patterns differed for total fat (only with AHEI-P, [odds ratio [OR]: 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.94–0.98]) and monounsaturated fatty acids (only with aMED, [OR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.02–1.10]), dairy (with AHEI-P [OR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.84–0.95] and aMED [OR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.81–0.91], and with DASH [OR: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.04–1.17]), whole grain (only with aMED [OR: 2.19; 95% CI: 1.61–2.99] and DASH [OR: 4.27; 95% CI: 3.04–5.99]) and fish (with AHEI-P [OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.02–1.80] and aMED [OR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.35–2.38], and with DASH [OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.52–0.86]). Conclusion Adherence to the three dietary pattern indices was generally associated with a favorable intake of nutrients and food groups. However, the indices captured slightly different aspects of dietary intake. These results show that dietary indices that assess adherence to healthy dietary patterns cannot be used interchangeably.