Tier 4 — mechanistic

Choline and betaine intakes during pregnancy in relation to risk of gestational diabetes mellitus among Chinese women

Kallie Lamkin, Lan Xu, Kaipeng Wang, Yuhong Liu, Kefeng Yang, Hui Wu, Lingpeng Lu, Xiaoxi Shen, Cassandra M Johnson, Jie Jia, Jie Zhu
The British journal of nutrition 2024 132(7):971-978

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 39429119
PubMed Central
PMC11576091
DOI
10.1017/S0007114524001995
Funding
Funding was not specified in the indexed record or accessible funding metadata.
Competing interests
A competing-interest declaration was not available in the indexed record or accessible disclosure metadata.

Study snapshot

DesignCase-control pregnancy study
ModelHuman participants
Sample168 gestational-diabetes cases and 375 controls
InterventionHabitual dietary choline and/or betaine intake; no randomized TMG treatment
Duration24-28 gestational weeks
EndpointsGestational diabetes; Parity interaction

What the study showed, in plain terms

Published in 2024, this source examined human observational and biomarker research. Design: Case-control pregnancy study. Sample/model: 168 gestational-diabetes cases and 375 controls. The exposure or intervention was Habitual dietary choline and/or betaine intake; no randomized TMG treatment. Follow-up or treatment period: 24-28 gestational weeks.

Overall betaine intake was not significantly associated with gestational diabetes; an inverse association appeared in a parity subgroup.

Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome. Diet recall, case selection or illness-related metabolite changes may introduce bias.

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Key findings

  • Overall betaine intake was not significantly associated with gestational diabetes; an inverse association appeared in a parity subgroup.
  • The recorded outcome domains were Gestational diabetes; Parity interaction.
  • The exposure was observed rather than assigned as an isolated supplement treatment.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome. Diet recall, case selection or illness-related metabolite changes may introduce bias.
  • Confounding, dietary patterns, illness, medication use and reverse causation can influence an association. Blood or dietary concentrations do not identify the effect of starting a capsule.
  • Source basis: Accessible full-text extract plus indexed bibliographic data. Missing method details, funding information or participant denominators are not inferred.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology