Circulating Lysophosphatidylcholines in Early Pregnancy and Risk of Gestational Diabetes in Chinese Women

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to explore associations of lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) in early pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and whether LPCs mediated the associations of bile acids with GDM risk or had interactive effects with bile acids on GDM risk.

Design: We conducted a 1:1 nested case-control study (n = 486) from a large prospective pregnant women cohort in urban Tianjin, China. Blood samples were collected at their first antenatal care visit (median at 10th gestational week). LPCs were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Conditional binary logistic regression and restricted cubic spline analysis were used to identify cutoff points of these metabolites for GDM risk.

Results: Of the 6 detectable LPCs, LPC14:0 less than 0.24 nmol/mL, LPC15:0 at 0.45 nmol/mL or greater, and LPC18:0 at 18.00 nmol/mL or greater were independently associated with GDM risk. Adjustment for LPC18:0 slightly attenuated odds ratios (ORs) of deoxycholic acid (DCA, ≤ 0.36 nmol/mL) and glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA, ≤ 0.07 nmol/mL) for GDM, and the correlations of DCA and GUDCA with LPC18:0 were weak. However, the presence of DCA at 0.36 nmol/mL or less greatly amplified the adjusted OR of LPC18:0 at 18.00 nmol/mL or greater alone for GDM from 8.18 (2.51-26.7) up to 17.7 (6.64-47.1), with significant additive interaction. Similarly, the presence of GUDCA at 0.07 nmol/mL or less also greatly amplified the adjusted OR of LPC18:0 at 18.00 nmol/mL or greater alone for GDM from 17.2 (1.77-168) up to 73.8 (12.7-429), with significant additive interaction.

Conclusions: LPCs in early pregnancy were associated with GDM risk. Low DCA or GUDCA greatly amplified the effect of high LPC18:0 on GDM, and its molecular mechanism is worth further investigations.

Keywords: Chinese women; bile acids; gestational diabetes mellitus; metabolism.