Introduction: The role of dietary intake on maternal glucose is uncertain. This study described the dietary charac- teristics of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and examined the differences in dietary characteristics based on GDM diagnosis. Methods: This study recruited GDM women (n =45; age =31.1±5.1 years old) from health clinics in Seremban. Dietary intake, glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) were assessed using a semi-quanti- tative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) during first and second trimester of pregnancy. GDM diagnosis was made at 28 weeks gestation with the following cut-off for FPG 5.1 or 2hPG 7.8 mmol/L following oral glucose toler- ance test. Results: Women with GDM had a reasonable intake of protein and fat but consumed high-carbohydrate at second trimester and high-sugar diet at both trimesters. Fibre, iron and calcium from the food sources did not meet the recommended nutrient intakes for pregnancy. About 75.6% (n = 34) GDM women had high 2hPG (9.3 ± 1.5 mmol/L) with a normal FPG (4.7 ± 0.7 mmol/L). While dietary characteristics were not significantly different, women with a higher 2hPG tended to take a higher proportion of protein at first trimester and a higher dietary GI, serving of rice, and sugars and creamer at second trimester than high FPG. Conclusion: Suboptimal maternal nutrition in women with GDM are of particular concern. Dietary characteristics of women with high fasting and 2-hour glucose were comparable but not optimal. The needs of tailored nutritional intervention are evident in women known to be at high risk of GDM.
Introduction: Low glycemic index (GI) diet is recommended as part of medical nutrition therapy for the management of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). While the clinical benefits are evident, data assessing knowledge of the GI concept among women with GDM are scarce. This was a needs assessment study to determine the level of knowl- edge about the GI concept among women with GDM. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, we included 85 women with GDM (mean age: 30.6 ± 4.0, pre-pregnancy BMI: 24.8 ± 4.1 kg/m2, gestational age: 34.0 ± 4.0 weeks) from Hospital Serdang, Malaysia. Knowledge about the GI concept was assessed using a developed questionnaire. Additional questions on GDM were assessed using Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Knowledge Questionnaire (GDM- KQ). Subjects with less than 50%, 51-74%, and more than 75% total score were categorized as having poor, fair, and good knowledge levels, respectively. Results: The mean knowledge score obtained by the subjects was 12.8 ± 3.5. More subjects scored correctly for GDM-related knowledge (68.2%). More than half (58.8%) had heard about the GI concept previously and 55.3% understood the definition of GI. The average knowledge score about the GI con- cept was 55.6%; subjects scored highest on the influence of different carbohydrates (teh tarik versus milk) on blood glucose level (87.1%). However, the majority of the subjects had fair knowledge level (62.4%). Conclusion: Women with GDM had moderate knowledge about the GI concept. Results of the needs assessment served as preliminary data for the development of a GI-based nutrition education program in Malaysia.