(P37-44-26) DASH Diet Adherence During Pregnancy and Maternal Blood Pressure Across the First and Third Trimesters in a U.S. Cohort

Objectives: The DASH diet is associated with healthier blood pressure (BP). We evaluated whether greater adherence to the DASH diet during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy is associated with healthier BP among pregnant women across twenty-two study sites in the U. S.

Methods: We analyzed data from 401 women participating in the National Children's Study Initial Vanguard pilot study. In the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, women answered a food frequency questionnaire about their diet over 3 months. Data were analyzed using the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR). DASH diet scores were calculated based on intake of eight components: fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, whole grains, low-fat dairy, sodium, red & processed meat and sweetened beverages. Each component was scored from 1 to 5 according to the intake quintile for each participant, with the total score ranging from 8 to 40; the higher the better. Blood pressure was measured in triplicate at both visits using the GE Carescape V100 Blood Pressure Monitor (GE, USA). We used linear mixed effect regression models to evaluate the association between DASH score and blood pressure to account for within-subject differences, adjusting for age, ethnicity, race, marital status, education level, insurance at enrollment and household income.

Results: During the first trimester, the mean (±SD) maternal age was 28.4 ± 5.2 years. Mean (±SD) systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) were 103 ± 8.8 mmHg and 59.9 ± 6.4 mmHg. DASH diet scores showed a small, non-significant increase from the first to the third trimester, rising from 23.7 ± 3.9 to 24.1 ± 3.8 points. In adjusted mixed-effects models, improvements in adherence to the DASH diet from the first to the third trimester of pregnancy were not significantly associated with differences in SBP (−0.36 mmHg, 95% CI: −0.75 to 0.02; p = 0.06) or DBP (−0.19 mmHg 95% CI: −0.47 to 0.09; p = 0.18).

Conclusions: We identified a low adherence to the DASH diet in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, but greater adherence to the DASH diet was not significantly associated with blood pressure during pregnancy in this diverse sample U.S. women.

Funding Sources: American Heart Association CDA