Few studies have suggested that long-term adherence to low-carbohydrate diets (LCD) may affect maternal glucose metabolism in western countries. We aimed to investigate the association between LCD during pregnancy and glucose metabolism in Chinese population. A total of 1,018 women in mid-pregnancy were recruited in 2017-2018. Participants underwent a 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Daily dietary intakes over the past month were accessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. The overall, animal, and vegetable LCD scores which represent adherence to different low-carbohydrate dietary patterns were calculated. Mixed linear regression and generalized linear mixed regression were conducted to evaluate the associations between LCD scores and maternal glucose metabolism. Of the 1,018 subjects, 194 (19.1%) was diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The overall LCD score (β: 0.024, standard error (SE): 0.008, PFDR=0.02) and animal LCD score (β: 0.023, SE: 0.008, PFDR=0.02) was positively associated with OGTT 1-h glucose. No significant associations were found between the three different LCD scores with fasting plasma glucose (FPG), OGTT 2-h glucose, or insulin resistance, respectively. Compared with the lowest quartile, the crude odds ratios of GDM for the highest quartile were 1.84 (95% CI: 1.14, 2.95) for overall LCD score (P for trend = 0.02) and 1.56 (1.00, 2.45) for animal LCD score (P for trend = 0.02). However, these associations became nonsignificant after adjustment for covariates. In conclusion, a low-carbohydrate dietary pattern with high animal protein and fat is associated with higher postprandial 1-h glucose levels in Chinese pregnant women.

Background: Previous studies have suggested that maternal dietary protein was associated with allergic diseases in offspring, but few studies have evaluated the influence of dietary protein patterns. This study aimed to explore the prospective association between maternal dietary protein patterns during pregnancy and the risk of infant eczema.Methods: A total of 713 mother-child pairs from a prospective cohort in Guangzhou, China were recruited. Maternal dietary protein was estimated using a validated face-to-face food frequency questionnaire at 20–28 weeks' gestation from 2017 to 2018. Dietary protein patterns were calculated based on the sources of protein. The data of infant eczema was assessed at 6 months of age using the symptom questionnaire of eczema. Logistic regression was carried out to examine the associations between maternal dietary protein patterns and infant eczema.Results: The cumulative incidence of infant eczema at 6 months of age was 51.19%. Mothers of infants with eczema consumed more protein from poultry source during pregnancy than mothers of infants without eczema, while no statistical differences were observed in maternal intakes of protein from cereals and tubers, vegetables, fruits, red meat, fish and seafood, eggs, dairy, soybean, and nuts and seeds. Four dietary protein patterns were identified and termed poultry, plant, dairy and eggs, and red meat and fish. The cumulative incidence of eczema was 61.2, 45.8, 48.0, 51.4% for these four patterns, respectively. Compared to the poultry dietary pattern, the plant pattern and the dairy and eggs pattern were associated with a reduced risk of infant eczema, and the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 0.572 (0.330–0.992), 0.478 (0.274–0.837), respectively. No such association was observed for the red meat and fish dietary protein pattern.Conclusion: This is the first study that focused on the association between maternal dietary protein during pregnancy from a whole-diet perspective and infant eczema. Compared with the poultry dietary protein pattern, the maternal plant pattern and the dairy and eggs pattern during pregnancy were associated with a reduced risk of infant eczema.

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Background: Previous studies have linked allergic symptoms to sleep in children, but the associations might be different when considering different types of allergic symptoms or sleep outcomes. Moreover, the combined effects of multiple allergic symptoms remain unclear in early life. This study aimed to investigate the associations between multiple allergic symptoms and sleep outcomes in early life.Methods: We included 673 toddlers aged 2 years from a birth cohort in Guangzhou, China. We identified allergic symptoms (skin, eyes and nose, gastrointestinal tract, mouth and lips, and wheeze) within 2 years via standard questionnaires. Sleep outcomes including sleep duration and quality over the past month were assessed based on the Chinese version of the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire. Associations between allergic symptoms and sleep outcomes were examined using multivariable linear regression and logistic regression.Results: Compared to children without allergic symptoms, children with allergic nasal and ocular symptoms had higher odds of frequent nighttime awakenings (OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.93) and irregular sleep (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.05, 2.00); children with allergic gastrointestinal symptoms slept 0.28 h less during nighttime (95% CI: −0.48, −0.07) and 0.25 h less per day (95% CI: −0.43, −0.08), and had 59% higher odds of irregular sleep (95% CI: 1.24, 2.04). We also found significant association of multiple allergic symptoms with shortened nighttime sleep duration and increased irregular sleep. Whereas, allergic skin, mouth and lips, and wheeze symptoms were not significantly associated with sleep outcomes.Conclusion: Allergic symptoms within 2 years of age were adversely associated with sleep outcomes, which highlight the importance of early screening of allergic symptoms in toddlers in order to improve their sleep outcomes.

Controversies around the association between dietary protein intake and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) persist. To the best of our knowledge, this association has not previously been reported from the perspective of dietary protein patterns. We aimed to investigate the relationship between dietary protein patterns and GDM risk in pregnant women, and 1014 pregnant women (20–28 weeks of gestation) were recruited in Guangzhou, China, during 2017–2018. Maternal dietary information was collected by a validated food frequency questionnaire, which covered the most common foods consumed in Guangzhou, China. GDM was identified by a 75g oral glucose tolerance test. A K-means cluster analysis was conducted to aggregate individuals into three groups, which were determined by the major sources of protein. Logistic regression was employed to explore the relationship between dietary protein patterns and the risk of GDM. Among the 1014 participants, 191 (18.84%) were diagnosed with GDM. In the total population, when comparing the highest quartile with the lowest, we found that total protein and animal protein intake increased the risk of GDM with the adjusted odds ratios (95%CI) being 6.27, 5.43 (1.71–23.03, 1.71–17.22), respectively. Pregnant women were further divided into three dietary protein patterns, namely, white meat, plant–dairy–eggs, and red meat protein patterns. Compared to women with the plant–dairy–eggs protein pattern, those with the red meat protein pattern (OR: 1.80; 95%CI: 1.06–3.07) or white meat protein pattern (OR: 1.83; 95%CI: 1.04–3.24) had an increased risk of GDM. Higher dietary intakes of total or animal protein during mid-pregnancy were related to an increased risk of GDM. Furthermore, we first found that, compared to women with the plant–dairy–eggs protein pattern, women with the red meat or white meat protein patterns had a higher risk of GDM.