The Indian Practitioner

Ruchi Sareen ¹, Aashna Arora ², Monica Chaudhry ³, Shweta Khandelwal ³

Affiliations
1 M.Sc. Food & Nutrition, Research Associate, Sangath, New Delhi, IN
2 M.Sc. Food & Nutrition, Intern, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Gurugram, Haryana, IN
3 Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Gurugram, Haryana, IN

Abstract

One in every seven births is affected by Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), globally. This ratio is expected to rise in future due to the continuous increase in the prevalence of GDM which poses as a risk for adverse health outcomes during pregnancy and delivery for both the mother and the baby. The scientific literature has already established the significance of GDM as a priority for maternal health and child health; however, a consensus on how to prevent GDM or minimize its adverse outcomes has not been reached. Where lifestyle interventions have shown a positive effect, prenatal supplementation with Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) has emerged as a new dietary intervention to control this condition. In this review, we assess the impact of prenatal Omega-3 supplementation prevention, management and pregnancy outcomes in GDM. The studies indicate towards a slight positive role of omega-3 supplementation in improved insulin resistance, lipid and glucose homeostasis, associated complications and pregnancy outcomes. However, this must be carefully interpreted in the light of limited studies retrieved in our search and quality of included publications. A thorough systematic review and meta-analysis of large high quality cohort studies or robust dietary intervention studies are urgently warranted to arrive at definite conclusions about omega-3’s role in GDM prevention and management.

Keywords

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Pregnancy, Maternal Hyperglycemia, Docosahexaenoic Acid.

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