Effects of Low Glycaemic Index Diet on Pregnancy Outcomes in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

This study examines the effects of a low glycaemic index diet on pregnancy outcomes in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. The research question focuses on the investigation of the effects of a low glycaemic index diet on high-risk mothers. The methodology includes a randomized controlled trial and the use of specific keywords for the search. The study has limitations and pitfalls that affect its validity.

Running head: EPIDEMIOLOGY
Epidemiology
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Introduction- The paper selected for the study is based upon the improvement of the
pregnancy outcomes and the in women that are affected with the gestational diabetes mellitus. It
is important to mention that the current practices of gestational diabetes is related with the
maintenance of the maternal glucose levels during the times of normal pregnancy. This level
stays within the levels of dietary intervention wither combined or alone with the insulin therapy.
The research question generated for this research includes the investigation of effects of low
glycaemic index diet on the mothers that are the high risk of gestational diabetes mellitus.
Methodology- During the search part, the search strategy used to search this article is
rather simple. Online search engines like the Google Scholar is used to search for the article. The
specific type of keywords that are used for the study include the Low–Glycaemic Index Diet,
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Pregnancy Outcomes, Randomized Controlled Trial, Dietary
interventions. The first 2 pages of the search are considered for the study and from there the
article that had the satisfactory content are chosen for the analysis. It is important to mention that
that for the analysis of the article, Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool is used.
Results-
Statement Answers Comments Justifications
Did the trial
address a
clearly
focused
issue?
Yes For the randomized clinical
trial women who have been
over 18 years of age between
12-20 weeks of gestation have
been considered. Moreover the
past medical records like the
Thus the population studied
and the target group has been
clearly mentioned by the
author in the study. Moreover
the frequency of the
interventions along with the

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ethnicity of the group inclusive
of Aboriginal populations have
been considered for the study.
The author has also evaluated
the dietary interventions
through maintenance of blood
glucose levels.
outcomes of the experiment
has been considered. Thus the
paper clearly addresses a
focused study (McCusker &
Gunaidin, 2015).
Was the
assignment
of patients
to treatments
randomised?
Yes Randomized controlled studies
have been done in the study.
The studies have been
conducted along with various
randomizations where the risk
factors like BMI, past history
of glucose tolerance has been
considered. The population
sample which has been
considered for the study has
been randomized.
Randomization has been
computer generated and the
values have been concealed
from the researchers and
Since randomization has been
done in the given study and
explained by the author, there
is a significance of
randomizations in the trial
(Rosenberger & Lachin,
2015).

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recruiters.
Were all of
the patients
who entered
the trial
properly
accounted
for at its
conclusion?
Yes The trial has not been stopped
early. However it can be seen
tat out of the 147 patients
taking part in the trial, 766 of
them had been allocated to low
gastrointestinal tract infections
while 71 had been given the
interventions. Among the given
population 65 and 67 people
had been there for analysis of
the study.
Although there is no evidence
of the trial stopped early in the
experiment, the author has
justified the studies in the
analysis of the results and the
number of subjects taking part
has also been justified
(Davidson & Kazcniyak,
2015).
Were
patients,
health
workers and
study
personnel
‘blind’ to
treatment?
Yes The author has been successful
in justifying the biostatisticians
who have been blinded to the
study. Moreover all the
assessors were blinded to the
intervention dietary
assignment. However blinding
of the participants in the study
has not been mentioned.
Although the participants have
not been blinded to the study,
the healthcare professionals
were blinded to the study
which proves the significance
of the findings and the
effectiveness of the study
(Sadiya et al., 2015).
Were the Yes Age has been an important There has been the

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groups
similar at
the start of
the trial
factor for the conduction of the
trails as those women more
than 8 years of age along with
12 to 20 weeks of gestation
period has been considered for
the study. Thus gender is
another factor affecting the
study.
involvement of various factors
like gender and age which has
been instrumental in the
conduction of the statistical
analysis of the study (Alvarez
et al., 2015).
Aside from
the
experimenta
l
intervention,
were the
groups
treated
equally
Yes The author has not mentioned
any situation where the
subjects were introduced to
anything outside the
intervention or different groups
were treated differently.
All the subjects had attended 5
individual dietary
consultations with dieticians at
various periods of gestations
along with various
micronutrient compositions
thus the intervention groups
has been treated equally
(Ahman et al., 2018).
How large
was the
treatment
effect?
Yes There has been clear
justification behind the
outcomes taken in the study.
The primary outcomes has
been clearly explained by the
All the outcomes have been
clearly mentioned and justified
along with the primary and
secondary outcomes.

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author. Medical records have
been simultaneously recorded
for primary, secondary
outcomes.
How precise
was the
estimate of
the
treatment
effect?
No There has been no specification
regarding the values of
significance in the studies.
Moreover The author has not
used the concept of confidence
limit to mention the
effectiveness of the treatment
processes. Only the P values
have been considered where
the significance values vary.
However there are various
limitations which include
people who have been assigned
to the study have not reduced
GI only but other factors also.
Estimation strategies inclusive
where the treatment was
effective is measured by the
significance values denoted by
P values. Thus the significance
has been considered but the
confidence limits have not
been explained. Thus the
estimation of the effectiveness
of the study is not clearly
mentioned.
Can the
results be
applied to
the local
Yes The study has been done
among women who are more
than 18 years of age and are
pregnant with 12-20 weeks of
The author has been successful
has been successful in being
compared to similar in the
actual study. The studies will

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population,
or in your
context?
gestation period. Moreover the
studies are done among the
aboriginal populations of
Australia.
be done among women only
who are pregnant and belong
to the aboriginal populations
of Australia. Thus the author
describes the chosen
population similar to the actual
scenario (Chamberlein et al.,
2014).
Were all
clinically
important
outcomes
considered?
Yes All the outcomes inclusive of
primary and secondary
outcomes which are clinically
important has been considered.
However the assessment could
be done among the women
before the age of 18 where the
concept of early marriage
pregnancy could be considered
Although the age of the
participants could be altered
for improving the outcomes of
the experiment the author has
been successful in considering
the outcomes of the
experiment clearly thus
fulfilling the requirements of
the study (Wuen & Yong,
2018).
Are the
benefits
worth the
harms and
costs?
Yes Although there are various
limitations to the study
including various limitations,
the benefits are equal to the
harms and costs as it gives an
The harms and costs are
outweighted by the importance
of the study.

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insight into the status of
women suffering from diabetes
mellitus who are pregnant and
especially belong to the
aboriginal populations in
Australia.
Methodology- One of the highlighting pitfalls of the study is the limitation of those that
are assigned to the low glycaemic diet group. It has been found that it not only reduced the
energy but also the glycaemic index. total sugar, saturated fat. It is important to mention that the
unrepresentative and high levels of education have led to the failure of the generalization of the
findings. It can be said that the increasing the number of participants can lead to increased
validity of the research.
Conclusion- from the above study it can be concluded that, the study is a randomized
control trial that have some of the limitations and pitfalls due to which the validity of the
research is cannot be presented.
References
Markovic, T. P., Muirhead, R., Overs, S., Ross, G. P., Louie, J. C. Y., Kizirian, N., ... & Brand-
Miller, J. C. (2016). Randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a low–glycemic
index diet on pregnancy outcomes in women at high risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: the GI
Baby 3 Study. Diabetes care, 39(1), 31-38.

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