by Paula Hage Boutros, Jessy El Hayek Fares, Maya Bassil, Kristine G. Koski Background The Mediterranean diet (MeD) is associated with favorable pregnancy outcomes, but contribution of this dietary pattern during pregnancy with small (SGA), appropriate (AGA) and large (LGA) for gestational age births is limited.
Methods For this prospective national cohort study 618 Lebanese pregnant women were recruited. Infant birth weight was categorized into SGA (n = 73), AGA (n = 447) and LGA (n = 98).
Modifiers of birth weight outcomes included dietary adherence to Lebanese MeD (LMeD), trimestral and total weight gain, MAP (mean arterial pressure) and PP (pulse pressure) and psychosocial, socio-demographic, and maternal health factors. Descriptive statistics compared differences among SGA, AGA, and LGA infants.
Hierarchical linear regression modeling identified determinants for birth weight categories and hierarchical logistic regression modeling was used to identify factors associated with increasing the likelihood of SGA or LGA compared to AGA births.
PLOS ONE (Medicine) published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 10 Jun 2026.
The item focuses on Predictors of infant birth weights: Role of the Lebanese mediterranean diet, psychosocial factors and maternal health status.
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