title: Insulin plasma levels in pregnant patients with impaired glucose tolerance: relationship with pregnancy outcome.
abstract: To investigate the impact of insulin secretion on pregnancy outcome, we studied 102 patients at risk for glucose intolerance between 28 and 34 weeks of gestation. All patients had a 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT, 100 g glucose), and glucose and insulin plasma levels were assayed: 32 patients had a gestational diabetes (GDM); 25 had an impaired gestational glycemic tolerance (IGGT), and 45 with normal OGTT constituted the control group. No significant difference between groups was seen for pregnancy outcome. Based on the mean +/- 2 SD of insulin secretion of the control group, IGGT/GDM patients were classified as normoinsulinemic (34 patients), hyperinsulinemic (17 patients), or hypoinsulinemic (6 patients). The hyperinsulinemic IGGT/ GDM group showed a greater incidence of pregnancy-induced hypertension (p < 0.03), while the percentile birth weight was significantly lower (p < 0.01) with respect to normo-hypoinsulinemic patients. Moreover a higher glucose/ insulin ratio was significantly related to birth weight (p < 0.01). Our results suggest an impact of insulin secretion on pregnancy outcome and support the importance of determining the insulinemic pattern in pregnant patients at risk for glucose intolerance.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Ostetricia e Ginecologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Di Simone
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ronsisvalle
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fulghesu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanzone
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caruso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin