RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the food consumption of pregnant women and the degree of industrial processing using the Energy-Adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DII). METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 237 women in the immediate postpartum period, ages 19 to 43. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, and food consumption information related to the gestational period were collected. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to determine the contribution of each food processing category to the energetic consumption. Using the calculation of the E-DII score (divided into quartiles), 27 dietary parameters were considered. Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, and χ2 tests, as well as ordinal multinomial logistic regression models, were used. RESULTS: The increase in E-DII score was associated with an increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods (quartile 1: 10.42% [0.00%-44.63%] < quartile 4: 34.17% [2.72%-74.90%]; P < 0.001) and a reduction in the consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods (quartile 1: 64.59% [34.08%-88.32%] > quartile 4: 44.64% [16.15%-70.59%]; P < 0.001). In the final regression model, women classified in the fourth quartile (most proinflammatory) were more likely to have a higher consumption of ultra-processed (odds ratio: 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.20) and processed products (odds ratio: 1.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.13). There was no association with gestational, sociodemographic, and maternal nutritional status information. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in the consumption of foods with a higher degree of processing is associated with a more proinflammatory potential of the maternal diet.