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Introduction: Maternal overweight is a risk factor for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, emerging evidence suggests that an increased maternal body mass index (BMI) promotes the development of perinatal complications even in women who do not develop GDM. This study aims to assess physiological glucometabolic changes associated with increased BMI. Methods: Twenty-one women with overweight and 21 normal weight controls received a metabolic assessment at 13 weeks of gestation, including a 60-min frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test. A further investigation was performed between 24 and 28 weeks in women who remained normal glucose tolerant. Results: At baseline, mothers with overweight showed impaired insulin action, whereby the calculated insulin sensitivity index (CSI) was lower as compared to normal weight controls (3.5 vs. 6.7 10-4 min-1 [microU/mL]-1, p = 0.025). After excluding women who developed GDM, mothers with overweight showed higher average glucose during the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at the third trimester. Moreover, early pregnancy insulin resistance and secretion were associated with increased placental weight in normal glucose-tolerant women. Conclusion: Mothers with overweight or obesity show an unfavorable metabolic environment already at the early stage of pregnancy, possibly associated with perinatal complications in women who remain normal glucose tolerant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Previous studies indicated an association between fetal overgrowth and maternal obesity independent of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, the underlying mechanisms beyond this possible association are not completely understood. This study investigates metabolic changes and their association with fetal and neonatal biometry in overweight and obese mothers who remained normal glucose‐tolerant during gestation. Material and methods: In this prospective cohort study 893 women who did not develop GDM were categorized according to their pregestational body mass index (BMI): 570 were normal weight, 220 overweight and 103 obese. Study participants received a broad metabolic evaluation before 16 weeks and were followed up until delivery to assess glucose levels during the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at mid‐gestation as well as fetal biometry in ultrasound and pregnancy outcome data. Results: Increased maternal BMI was associated with an adverse metabolic profile at the beginning of pregnancy, including a lower degree of insulin sensitivity (as assessed by the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index) in overweight (mean difference: −2.4, 95% CI −2.9 to −1.9, p < 0.001) and obese (mean difference: −4.3, 95% CI −5.0 to −3.7, p < 0.001) vs normal weight women. Despite not fulfilling diagnosis criteria for GDM, overweight and obese mothers showed higher glucose levels at fasting and during the OGTT. Finally, we observed increased measures of fetal subcutaneous tissue thickness in ultrasound as well as higher proportions of large‐for‐gestational‐age infants in overweight (18.9%, odds ratio [OR] 1.74, 95% CI 1.08–2.78, p = 0.021) and obese mothers (21.0%, OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.06–3.59, p = 0.027) vs normal weight controls (11.8%). The risk for large for gestational age was further determined by OGTT glucose (60 min: OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.02–1.21, p = 0.013; 120 min: OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02–1.27, P = 0.025, for the increase of 10 mg/dL) and maternal triglyceride concentrations (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01–1.22, p = 0.036, for the increase of 20 mg/dL). Conclusions: Mothers affected by overweight or obesity but not GDM had a higher risk for fetal overgrowth. An impaired metabolic milieu related to increased maternal BMI as well as higher glucose levels at mid‐gestation may impact fetal overgrowth in women still in the range of normal glucose tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Previous studies demonstrated a continuous decline in fetal growth throughout singleton pregnancy after bariatric surgery. However, intrauterine growth in twin pregnancy is subjected to further underlying processes. This study was to investigate the longitudinal assessment of fetal biometry and abdominal fat thickness of twin pregnancies conceived after gastric bypass (GB) surgery and compare them to body mass index-matched (BMIM) and obese (OB) controls. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively assessed ultrasound data of 30 women with dichorionic-diamniotic twin pregnancy (11 women after GB surgery, 9 OB mothers with pregestational BMI ≥30 kg/m2, and 10 BMIM and age-matched controls). We assessed fetal growth parameters including fetal subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness (FSCTT) as well as newborn biometry after delivery. Patient characteristics were obtained from the medical records. Results: The rise in FSCTT curves was markedly slower in the twin offspring of women with history of GB as compared to the offspring of OB mothers and offspring of BMIM controls. Hence, FSCTT was significantly decreased in the GB offspring as compared to both control groups at 34 weeks of gestation. Also, growth curves of abdominal circumference were decreased in the offspring of GB patients as compared to OB mothers. Infants of mothers with history of GB showed significantly lower birth weight percentiles compared to newborns of OB mothers (27.2 vs. 48.8 pct, p = 0.025). There was no significant difference in inter-twin birth weight difference between the offspring of GB (median: 9.9%, interquartile ranges [IQR]: 6.5–20.0) versus OB (median: 14.6%, IQR: 8.2–21.6) and BMIM controls (median: 9.0%, IQR: 6.3–12.6, p = 0.714). Conclusions: In summary, intrauterine growth delay in twin pregnancies after GB is assumed to be a multifactorial event with altered metabolism as the most important factor. However, special attention must be paid to the particularity of twin pregnancies as they seem to be subject to other additional mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences in glucose metabolism among categories of prediabetes have not been systematically investigated. In this longitudinal study, participants (N = 2,111) underwent a 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at baseline and 48 months. HbA1c was also measured. We classified participants as having isolated prediabetes defect (impaired fasting glucose [IFG], impaired glucose tolerance [IGT], or HbA1c indicative of prediabetes [IA1c]), two defects (IFG+IGT, IFG+IA1c, or IGT+IA1c), or all defects (IFG+IGT+IA1c). β-Cell function (BCF) and insulin sensitivity were assessed from OGTT. At baseline, in pooling of participants with isolated defects, they showed impairment in both BCF and insulin sensitivity compared with healthy control subjects. Pooled groups with two or three defects showed progressive further deterioration. Among groups with isolated defect, those with IGT showed lower insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion at reference glucose (ISRr), and insulin secretion potentiation (P < 0.002). Conversely, those with IA1c showed higher insulin sensitivity and ISRr (P < 0.0001). Among groups with two defects, we similarly found differences in both BCF and insulin sensitivity. At 48 months, we found higher type 2 diabetes incidence for progressively increasing number of prediabetes defects (odds ratio >2, P < 0.008). In conclusion, the prediabetes groups showed differences in type/degree of glucometabolic impairment. Compared with the pooled group with isolated defects, those with double or triple defect showed progressive differences in diabetes incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]