Hyperlipidemia during gestational diabetes and its relation with maternal and offspring complications

Abstract

Introduction: lipid profile suffers adaptive changes during pregnancy due to estrogen stimulation and insulin resistance. Several relations have been suggested between maternal lipid profile, glucose tolerance, endothelial cell dysfunction and long-term cardiovascular risk; the effects of maternal lipid profile metabolism in fetal growth are also inconclusive. Since a regular evaluation and follow-up of lipid profile during pregnancy has not been established yet, we aimed to evaluate the incidence of dyslipidemia in patients with gestational diabetes (GDM) and analyze some putative relations with pregnancy, offspring complications and maternal metabolic syndrome parameters determined three and twelve months after delivery.

Patients and methods: two hundred and fifty patients with GDM were included. Full medical history, offspring characteristics, lipid profile and maternal variables of metabolic syndrome were evaluated during pregnancy and three- and twelve-months after delivery. The incidence of dyslipidemia during pregnancy was determined using two different classifications.

Results: lower plasma HDL and hypertriglyceridemia were the most current disorders; prematurity or birth weight were not correlated with dyslipidemia. During pregnancy, the lipid-related parameter that better predicted the risk of offspring macrosomia was triglycerides (TG). High TG three months after delivery were correlated to macrosomia and metabolic syndrome variables before and after pregnancy (three and twelve months).

Conclusions: TG during pregnancy is the parameter that best predicts the risk of macrosomia and is related to increased metabolic risk after delivery. The evaluation of lipid profile and other metabolic variables during pregnancy and after delivery is required to early diagnose cardiovascular risk factors, especially in high risk population.