title: Gestational Diabetes Independently Increases Birth Length and Augments the Effects of Maternal BMI on Birth Weight: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of the interaction between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and maternal body mass index (BMI) on the individual neonatal growth parameters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A tertiary maternity service in Sydney, Australia, between 2005 and 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 8859 women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Generalized linear models.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neonatal growth parameters, represented by z-scores for infant birth weight (BW), birth length (BL), and head circumference (HC) in GDM and non-GDM groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only GDM alone had an independent and positive effect on BL (p = 0.02) but not on BW or HC. In addition, in pregnancies complicated with GDM, the association between maternal weight and BW was significantly stronger (p < 0.001). In combination, GDM and maternal BMI significantly affected z-score differences between BW and BL (p < 0.001), in that underweight mothers had babies that were lighter relative to their length and inversely obese mothers had babies that were heavier relative to their length.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GDM independently influences BL and increases the association between maternal BMI and BW. In accordance with the hypothesis of the fetal origins of health and disease, the pronounced effects of GDM on fetal growth patterns demonstrated in this study are likely to influence long-term health outcomes in children.
authors.affiliation: Sydney Medical School - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Byström
authors.affiliation: Sydney Medical School - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia ; Charles Perkins Centre - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Sydney Medical School - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia ; Charles Perkins Centre - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia.
authors.forename: Ann Elizabeth
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Quinton
authors.affiliation: Sydney Medical School - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia ; Charles Perkins Centre - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia.
authors.forename: Bernard Linton
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Champion
authors.affiliation: Sydney Medical School - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia.
authors.forename: Kristy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.affiliation: Sydney Medical School - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia ; Charles Perkins Centre - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peek
authors.affiliation: Sydney Medical School - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia ; Charles Perkins Centre - Nepean, The University of Sydney , Penrith, NSW , Australia.
authors.forename: Ralph Kay Heinrich
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Nanan
keywords: birth length; birth weight; gestational diabetes mellitus; head circumference; maternal BMI