Can Gestational Diabetes Lead to Prediabetes?

Highlights:

Prediabetes can be initiated by gestational diabetes, which causes metabolic abnormalities in pregnant women
Early pregnancy metabolic profiles can be used to assess the risk of type 2 diabetes in expectant mothers
Women who develop prediabetes during pregnancy exhibit abnormalities in their blood serum metabolomic profile, including increased levels of tiny HDL particles in early pregnancy, which can be an early indicator of the risk for type 2 diabetes

Women who acquired prediabetes after pregnancy exhibited abnormalities in their blood serum metabolomic profile during pregnancy. In particular, they had increased levels of tiny HDL particles in early pregnancy ().

Gestational Diabetes About
The condition is not caused by a lack of insulin, but by the action of hormones produced during pregnancy that blocks the action of insulin.

‘Early pregnancy metabolic profile, together with clinical factors such as age and pre-pregnancy BMI, predicted postpartum prediabetes’

Post Gestational Diabetes can be an Initiating Factor for Prediabetes

During pregnancy, the mother's metabolism alters to ensure the growth of the fetus, among other things. Metabolism abnormalities during pregnancy have previously been observed in women who acquire gestational diabetes. Because gestational diabetes is a well-known risk factor for type 2 diabetes, researchers sought to see if they could identify women who are predisposed to type 2 diabetes based on their metabolism during pregnancy.

Quiz on Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes occurs in women during pregnancy when blood glucose levels increase in their body. It is diagnosed during the 24th week of pregnancy. Take this quiz to know more about its complications and how will your baby get affected if its left untreated.

Metabolic Profile to Assess the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Expecting Mothers

The risk of type 2 diabetes in mothers was investigated in a mother-child study at the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Finland. The metabolic profiles of the mother's blood samples, or their serum metabolic profiles, were assessed in early and late pregnancy using a technology that detects over 200 compounds and their ratios. At postpartum, the mother's fasting blood glucose and insulin resistance were also assessed using standard laboratory testing.

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Blood Metabolic Profile of Women with Prediabetes

The blood metabolic profiles of women who developed prediabetes during pregnancy were compared to those of women whose fasting glucose remained stable at two years postpartum. "We discovered that the metabolic profile in early pregnancy, along with clinical variables such as age and pre-pregnancy BMI, predicted postpartum prediabetes."

"Higher concentrations of small HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, particles in blood circulation during early pregnancy were associated with higher fasting glucose and insulin resistance two years later," explains Doctoral Researcher Ella Muhli from the University of Turku's Early Nutrition and Health Research group.

"Our findings suggest that women at increased risk for type 2 diabetes could be identified in early pregnancy based on their serum metabolic profiles."

"However, similar associations were not found in late pregnancy," Muhli says.

A larger concentration of tiny HDL particles in circulation has previously been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, in addition to the risk for type 2 diabetes.

Reference:

Aberrations in the early pregnancy serum metabolic profile in women with prediabetes at two years postpartum - (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10038958/)

Source-Medindia

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