Tan, Xiaohan, Tian, Qianqian, Liu, Bin, Zhang, Wei, Liu, Jun, Wang, Xiaohua, Ojo, Omorogieva ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0071-3652 and Jiang, Qing (2026) Association between interoceptive sensitivity and impaired fasting glucose in early pregnancy: the mediating effect of dietary quality distance and food variety. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition. ISSN 2072-1315 (Online) (doi:10.1186/s41043-026-01418-3)

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Abstract

Background
Early pregnant women often experience changes in their dietary patterns. Interoceptive sensitivity (IS), the ability to detect internal bodily signals, influences appetite regulation and dietary choices, potentially impacting glucose metabolism. Whether IS is a protective factor against elevated FBG in early pregnancy, and poor dietary patterns are linked to impaired fasting glucose (IFG), the relationships between IS, dietary patterns, and IFG remain unclear.

Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2024 to June 2025. IS and FBG were recorded in early pregnancy; a three-day dietary diary was applied to record the number of consumed foods and was valued by Chinese Diet Balance Index for Pregnancy (DBI-P), which was used to assess dietary quality distance (DQD) and food variety which comprehensively reflect unbalanced diet and richness of food intake, respectively. Logistic regression analyzed association between IS and IFG. The mediation model test was employed to examine the mediating effect of dietary quality.

Results
A total of 215 patients were included in the study, and the prevalence of IFG was 17.2% (N = 37). The scores of IS and its subscale including Emotional Awareness, Self-Regulation, Body Listening, and Trust in IFG group were lower than those in normal group. IS was significantly associated with IFG (OR = 0.491, 95% CI: 0.287, 0.839, P = 0.009). The values of DQD especially in Low Bound Score (LBS) were higher in the IFG group, whereas the food diversity was less sufficient than that in the normal group. The DQD and food variety mediated the relationship between IS and IFG, (DQD: indirect = -0.101, 95%CI: -0.241, -0.018; food variety: indirect = -0.074, 95%CI: -0.207, -0.010).

Conclusion
Our findings suggest that IS is significantly associated with impaired fasting glucose in early pregnancy which is mediated by dietary quality, mainly diet quality distance and food variety. The pathway may be that an impaired interoceptive sensitivity drives less optimal dietary choices (high LBS, low food variety), which in turn negatively impacts fasting glucose levels. These findings offer a novel perspective on the potential value of interoception-oriented approaches. Integrating body-awareness training into early pregnancy may represent a promising avenue to improve dietary choices and achieve better glycemic outcomes for pregnant women at risk of metabolic dysfunction.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	first trimester, interoception, impaired fasting glucose, dietary quality, mediation analysis
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RG Gynecology and obstetrics
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Chronic Illness and Ageing Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Health Sciences (HEA)
Last Modified:	14 Aug 2026 13:16
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/54027

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