Investigating the Association of Food Insecurity, Psychological Factors, and Social Support with Gestational Diabetes in Pregnant Women in Ilam Province, Iran

Diabetes is a metabolic disease with an increasing prevalence. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors associated with this disease. This study aimed to determine the association of food insecurity, psychological factors, and social support with gestational diabetes in pregnant women in Ilam Province, Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, a total of 734 pregnant women at the gestational age of 24-28 weeks were selected. Sampling was performed in March-November 2016 in health centers of Ilam Province by cluster sampling method. The data collection tools included the demographic and midwifery, economic and social status, stress, anxiety, depression, domestic violence, social support, and food insecurity questionnaires. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16, using descriptive and analytical methods (single and multiple logistic regression analyses).

Overall, 9.8% of the subjects had gestational diabetes, and 35.1% reported food insecurity. The study of stress, anxiety, and depression showed mild stress (61.1%), mild anxiety (63.4%), and mild depression (62.8%) in the majority of subjects. Also, 251 (34.2%) subjects had high social support. After controlling for the effects of midwifery factors, demographic characteristics, and other independent variables, the results of multivariate regression analysis did not indicate any significant difference in terms of food insecurity, psychological factors, and social support between the two groups (P<0.05).

Although gestational diabetes is very common, there was no significant association between gestational diabetes and food insecurity, psychological factors, and social support. Considering the small number of studies in this field, further research is needed to confirm this relationship.