Grunnet LG, et al. - A clinical study within the Danish national birth cohort is done to analyze body composition and related cardiometabolic traits in 561 9- to 16-year-old offspring of mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and 597 control offspring. The outcome of this study suggests that the adolescent offspring of women with GDM demonstrates increased adiposity, an adverse cardiometabolic profile, and earlier onset of puberty among girls. Increased fasting glucose and HOMA-IR levels among the offspring of mothers with GDM may be clarified by the programming impacts of hyperglycemia in pregnancy.

Methods

• In this study, they measured anthropometric characteristics; puberty status; blood pressure; and fasting glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and lipids levels; and conducted a DEXA scan in a subset of the cohort.
• Differences in the outcomes between offspring of mothers with GDM and control subjects were analyzed utilizing linear and logistic regression models.

Results

• After adjustment for age and sex, offspring of mothers with GDM showed higher weight, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), systolic blood pressure, and resting heart rate and lower height.
• Offspring of mothers with GDM had higher total and abdominal fat percentages and lower muscle mass percentages, but these differences disappeared after correction for offspring BMI.
• The offspring of mothers with GDM showed higher fasting plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide, HOMA-insulin resistance (IR), and plasma triglyceride levels, whereas fasting plasma HDL cholesterol levels were reduced.
• Female offspring of mothers with GDM had an earlier onset of puberty than control offspring.
• Offspring of mothers with GDM had significantly higher BMI, WHR, fasting glucose, and HOMA-IR levels after adjustment for maternal prepregnancy BMI, and glucose and HOMA-IR remained raised in the offspring of mothers with GDM after correction for both maternal and offspring BMIs.