Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as carbohydrate intolerance with recognition or onset during pregnancy, irrespective of the treatment with diet or insulin. Metabolic features of GDM are hyperglycemia, insulin resistance (IR), and hyperlipidemia. IR during pregnancy is multifactorial. Most important causes of IR are placental hormones, and inflammatory markers include interleukin-6, high sensitivity C reactive protein (HsCRP), tumor necrosis factor α, increased free fatty acids, and increased oxidative stress.
Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the role of biomarkers of IR like fasting insulin and inflammatory markers like HsCRP in the development of hyperglycemia in GDM.
Materials and Methods: The study population was derived by screening pregnant females attending for their routine antenatal checkup from 24 to 28 weeks of gestation. 159 females were enrolled after giving consent. A sample of venous blood was collected to assess the fasting insulin and HsCRP.
Results: On comparing the HsCRP, fasting insulin levels and body mass index of GDM and non-GDM cases diagnosed by any of the criteria values were found to be higher among GDM as compared to non-GDM and differences were found to be statistically significant for HsCRP and fasting insulin.
Conclusion: Fasting insulin levels are significantly increased in GDM patients as compared to non-GDM, which concluded that gestational diabetes is an insulin-resistant state. Inflammatory markers such as HsCRP are also significantly increased in GDM patients, which also favors that pregnancy is a state of mild inflammation.
Key words: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus; High Sensitivity C Reactive Protein; Fasting Insulin
|
