title: Increased maternal fasting proinsulin as a predictor of insulin requirement in women with gestational diabetes.
abstract: Circulating proinsulin was assessed during a 75g OGTT in 55 pregnant women who fulfilled WHO criteria for impaired glucose tolerance before the 32nd gestational week. Proinsulin was assayed retrospectively using a two-site immunoradiometric assay and immunoreactive insulin by radioimmunoassay. Of the 55 women, 19 required insulin treatment in addition to diet later in pregnancy. Fasting proinsulin concentrations were significantly higher in the 19 women who later required insulin treatment compared with the 36 women treated with diet alone (3.4 +/- 0.7 vs 1.8 +/- 0.2 pmol l-1, p < 0.005). There was no difference between the treatment groups of 60 and 120 min proinsulin values during the OGTT. Fasting plasma glucose and immunoreactive insulin were similar in the insulin-treated and diet-treated women and remained similar during the OGTT. No women within the insulin-treated group had a fasting plasma proinsulin value < 1.1 pmol l-1 in contrast with 12 women in the diet-treated group (p = 0.0123). Ten of the 19 insulin-treated women had a fasting plasma proinsulin > 2.5 pmol l-1 compared with 8 of the 36 diet-treated women (p = 0.0346). Fasting proinsulin values early in pregnancy have prognostic implications in women with gestational diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St Mary's Hospital Medical School, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Nicholls
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: I P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andres
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Niththyananthan
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Beard
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dornhorst
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D003927:Diet, Diabetic; D005215:Fasting; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011384:Proinsulin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D011384:Proinsulin