Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Serum Adiponectin Levels in Pregnancy: Results from a Cohort Study in Normal Weight Caucasian Women

Abstract

The Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) is significantly associated with anti-inflammatory effects and a favorable health outcome. During pregnancy, both inflammatory changes and oxidative balance are essential for a successful outcome, while an unbalanced inflammatory response can be a key mediator of obstetrical syndromes. The aim of this study is to investigate the adherence to MedDiet during pregnancy in the 1st and in the 3rd trimester, and to test whether the adherence was associated with serum adiponectin levels. The study was carried out on 99 normal weight Caucasian women. The adherence to MedDiet was measured by a 13-point Mediterranean scale. The whole sample scored 7.2 ± 1.5, with no difference between first and third trimester (p = 0.7). Critical points were: fruit < 3 servings/day in 77% of the sample, beans < 3 times/week in 89%, fish < 2 times/week in 69%, and nut weekly intake < 30 g in 75%. The serum adiponectin levels significantly decreased from the first to the third trimester (−16% ± 4%, p = 0.008), which confirms a low-grade inflammatory condition associated with advancing gestational age. The women who were in the highest tertile of the adherence to MedDiet had a lower percentage decrease, as compared with those in the lowest tertile (10% ± 11% vs. −34% ± 3%, p = 0.01). Even if in pregnancy the adiponectin levels are strongly influenced by the low-grade inflammation, the adherence to MedDiet may modulate this state.

Anti-Inflammatory and Pro-Inflammatory Adipokine Profiles in Children on Vegetarian and Omnivorous Diets

“…It is difficult to explain whether changed levels of adipokines are directly associated with diet. Some authors suggested that polyphenols, vitamins, and fiber derived from plant-based foods are the main bioactive compounds that are associated with the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties [ 57 , 58 , 59 ]. It is not excluded that a lower dietary intake of total protein and animal protein, but a higher intake of plant protein and fiber observed in vegetarians may have a direct beneficial effect on body composition, fat tissue secretion, lipid profile, and glycemic control.…”

The role of adiponectin in placentation and preeclampsia

“…Maternal circulating HMW adiponectin and HMW/total adiponectin ratio are lower in late gestation than in the nonpregnancy period, but there is no significant difference in circulating adiponectin multimers between the early and late pregnancy periods . Adiponectin levels correlate inversely with gestational age in normal‐weight pregnant women but not in overweight women and, in the third trimester, fall significantly as compared with the levels in the first trimester . The increase in maternal fat deposition during the progression of pregnancy, the inverse relationship between adiponectin and body fats, and the downregulation of adiponectin by increased fat mass explain this observation.…”

Maternal Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet during Pregnancy: A Review of Commonly Used a priori Indexes

“…In total, 27 observational studies were included in the review: 17 (63.0%) cohort studies [20][21][22][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]; 7 (25.9%) cross-sectional studies [38][39][40][41][42][43][44]; 2 (7.4%) case-control studies [23,45]; and, 1 (3.7%) nested case-control study [46]. Table 2 provides a summary of the key characteristics of these 27 studies.…”

“…Moreover, nine studies grouped fruits and nuts together as a single component [21,22,24,[27][28][29][30]37,39] in line with the original designs of the MDS-2003 [13] and rMed [49] employed by these studies. [20][21][22][23][24][27][28][29][30][32][33][34]36,37,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46], including only the PREDIMED score of Martínez-Galiano et al (2018) [23]. Thirteen studies categorized nuts as a separate component from fruits [20,23,[32][33][34]36,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46].…”