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DALLAS -- Following a Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of developing preeclampsia, and Black women appeared to have the greatest reduction of risk, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.
Previous studies have found that following a Mediterranean diet, which consists primarily of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, olive oil, whole grains, and fish, reduces heart disease risk in adults.
Preeclampsia, a condition during pregnancy characterized by severe high blood pressure and liver or kidney damage, is a major cause of complications and death for the mother and her unborn child. Preeclampsia also increases a woman’s risk of heart diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke or heart failure, by more than two times later in life. Women with preeclampsia have a higher risk of preterm delivery (giving birth before 37 weeks gestation) or low birth weight babies, and children born to mothers with preeclampsia are also at higher risk of developing high blood pressure and heart disease.
Black women are at higher risk of developing preeclampsia, yet research on potential treatments for high-risk women are limited, according to the study researchers. The researchers investigated the potential association of a Mediterranean-style diet among a large group of racially and ethnically diverse women who have a high risk of preeclampsia.
“The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries, and preeclampsia contributes to it,” said Anum S. Minhas, M.D., M.H.S., chief cardiology fellow and a cardio-obstetrics and advanced imaging fellow at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “Given these health hazards to both mothers and their children, it is important to identify modifiable factors to prevent the development of preeclampsia, especially among Black women who are at the highest risk of this serious pregnancy complication.”
This study included data for more than 8,500 women enrolled between 1998 and 2016 in the Boston Birth Cohort. Participants’ median age was 25 years old, and they were recruited from Boston Medical Center, which serves a predominantly urban, low-income, under-represented racial and ethnic population. Nearly half of the participants were Black women (47%), about a quarter were Hispanic women(28%) and the remaining were white women or “other” race, according to self-reported information on a postpartum questionnaire. Researchers created a Mediterranean-style diet score based on participants’ responses to food frequency interviews and questionnaires, which were conducted within three days of giving birth.
The analysis found:
10% of the study participants developed preeclampsia.
Women who had any form of diabetes before pregnancy and pre-pregnancy obesity were twice as likely to develop preeclampsia compared to women without those conditions.
The risk of preeclampsia was more than 20% lower among the women who followed a Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy.
Black women who had the lowest Mediterranean-style diet scores had the highest risk (72% higher) for preeclampsia compared to all other non-Black women who more closely adhered to the Mediterranean-style diet.
“We were surprised that women who more frequently ate foods in the Mediterranean-style diet were significantly less likely to develop preeclampsia, with Black women experiencing the greatest reduction in risk,” Minhas said. “This is remarkable because there are very few interventions during pregnancy that are found to produce any meaningful benefit, and medical treatments during pregnancy must be approached cautiously to ensure the benefits outweigh the potential risks to the mother and the unborn child.”
Minhas added, “Women should be encouraged to follow a healthy lifestyle, including a nutritious diet and regular exercise, at all stages in life. Eating healthy foods regularly, including vegetables, fruits and legumes, is especially important for women during pregnancy. Their health during pregnancy affects their future cardiovascular health and also impacts their baby’s health.”
The study’s limitations are related to the food frequency interviews: they were conducted once after the pregnancy, and they relied on self-reported information about which foods were eaten and how frequently they were eaten.
Most of us have wondered about life beyond the grave. Many today are in search of life before the grave. Given what many people traditionally believe about heaven, eternity and life beyond, it would certainly seem very valuable to think about a life beyond. However, what about life here?
The Ukrainian people wake up every day to fight, survive or hide another day. They fight for life and freedom. Why? Life and freedom are worth something.
How much are life and freedom worth? What does it mean to you to hug your spouse or loved one? How much do you enjoy laughing with family, friends or at a funny tv show? How good does it feel to do something you enjoy? Cooking a meal, music, reading, your faith assembly, grandkids or enjoying a sunny or rainy day. Life is living and enjoying our living.
God didn’t make us to be miserable. We make ourselves miserable. Sickness makes us miserable. Addictions destroy us and others. Death of the people we love zaps us and creates major voids in our lives. Yet, life can only be lived forward and often this is where we get stuck.
Too often we put our cars in park and start watching the world go by us. We look in the rear view mirror. Life is whizzing by and we can’t seem to get our foot back on the accelerator to start moving again. This becomes a very stagnate and unhappy way to live. Actually, it’s not a life at all.
Living before you die must have some routine. Go to work. Go someplace. Do something. It doesn’t have to be exotic or glorious. Often routine is the same thing every day. There is some peace in routine. When our routine and entire lives are shaken, like what is happening in Ukraine, then every minute is about surviving another day.
Survival mode for you may be doctor’s visits. Making a plan for the next five years or year of your life. Reconnecting to some family or a friend or two. Making peace with the past and embracing today.
The keyword for life is hope.
Peace is another keyword but peace doesn’t exist without hope. If we have hope we can look forward to life. We hope we have enough health. We hope we have enough money. The people of Ukraine have hope they can overcome Russia. This keeps many of them going. Many have fled the country in search of hope.
Find the hope you need to embrace the rest of your life. Hope in family, friends, hobbies and much more is good. Just be very aware, even they may disappoint you. Mainly, find hope in you.
God didn’t make junk. Too often, life, events, mistakes, and sometimes even people we are close to make it difficult for us to see our worth and it tarnishes our spirit.
Hope is an inside job that starts now.
