Diversity Score and the Incidence of Gestational Diabetes in Moroccan Pregnant Women

Abstract

The diet of Moroccan pregnant women is of major public health concern, particularly because of its crucial role in preventing nutritional deficiencies and complications related to gestational diabetes. This study, conducted over 17 months from October 2018 to February 2020 in Safi, aimed to evaluate the relationship between diet quality assessed by the dietary diversity score (DDS) of pregnant women and the incidence of diabetes (GDM). The study included women who attended antenatal consultation services in eight health centers. Nutritional and dietary data were collected using validated questionnaires and analyzed using BILNUT NUTRISOFT V 2.0 software. The exploration of associations between variables used statistical tests of ANOVA, Student's t test and Chi-square test. The results indicated that DDS was low in 42.9%, modeate in 55.4% and high DDS in only 1.7% of the participants. Although the results did not reveal a direct association of DDS with GDM (p > 0.05), a strong correlation was observed between this score and the number the food groups consumed (p < 0.001). The study highlights a partial dietary diversification in this population. To conclude, this study data highlights the importance of a varied and balanced diet in the prevention of complications, particularly in the case of gestational diabetes and call for reinforced nutritional interventions targeting this population category.