Icon Legend

This session is not in your schedule.

This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Presentation Icons

Additional registration fee required

Faculty have requested this content not be shared outside of the session

CME Credit Offered

Abstract Award

Recording available 2/16-5/2

AIUM Credit

Foundation Awardee

Poster Icons

Abstract Award

Foundation Awardee

Poster Session 3

Category: Medical/Surgical/Diseases/Complications

Poster Session 3

(896) Effects of Healthy Dietary Interventions on Maternal Biomarkers: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

Thursday, February 12, 2026

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Coauthor(s)

JM

Julio Mateus Nino, MD, PhD

Physician
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Charlotte Campus
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Presenting Author(s)

NE

Nicole Elhelou, MD

Wake Forest School of Medicine, Charlotte Campus
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Coauthor(s)

AB

Anna Buhle, MD

Medical Resident Third Year
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Charlotte Campus
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
ST

Silvia Triana

Dietitian Nutritionist Specialist
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Charlotte Campus
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
LC

Leah Carnick Ledford, MSN, RN

Nurse Practitioner
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Charlotte Campus
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Submitting Author(s)

Sequoia Finney, BS (she/her/hers)

Project Manager
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Charlotte Campus
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Coauthor(s)

TG

Tasha L. Gill, MPH, PhD

Research Assistant Professor
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Charlotte Campus
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Objective:
During pregnancy, physiological increases in lipids, C-reactive protein (CRP), and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are more pronounced in complications like gestational diabetes (GDM) and preeclampsia. We examined how a healthy Western-style diet (HWS-Diet) compares to a Mediterranean-style diet (Med-Diet) in influencing these biomarkers in overweight and obese pregnant women.

Study Design:
Pilot randomized clinical trial of overweight (body mass index [BMI]25.0-29.9 kg/m2) and obese (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2) pregnant patients at ≤16 weeks of gestation, randomly assigned 1:1 to either an HWS-Diet or Med-Diet. Participants received comprehensive dietary counseling and pre-selected meals and snacks delivered to their homes. Maternal blood levels of CRP, lipids (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides), and HbA1c were measured at ≤16 weeks and 26-30 weeks, and compared between dietary groups using independent sample t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Results:
Of 28 pregnant patients, 15 were assigned to the HWS-Diet and 13 to the Med-Diet. No significant differences in biomarkers were observed between the groups at any testing point (Table 1). Within each group, CRP and Hb1Ac trended toward a decrease, while total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL trended toward an increase, but these changes were not statistically significant (Table 2). Conversely, triglyceride levels increased significantly in both groups (HWS-Diet:168.60±12.50 to 217.66±14.21 (P=0.01); Med-Diet: 159.23±23.50 to 261.23±36.27 (P=0.004)), with a smaller increase in the HWS-Diet group (29.1%) compared to the Med-Diet group (64.0%). The rates of GDM (13.33% vs. 23.08%; P=0.64) and preeclampsia (6.67% vs. 7.69%; P=1.0) were not significantly different between groups.

Conclusion:
In this pilot study, findings suggest that starting a healthy dietary intervention early in pregnancy may help prevent increases in CRP and HbA1c levels, while also lowering the rise in lipid levels, with the HWS-diet being favored over Med-Diet. The impact of these changes on clinical outcomes should be evaluated in a larger trial.