OBJECTIVE: To investigate maternal serum adiponectin and
Interleukin-1beta (IL-1 beta) levels during the pre- and post-partum
periods in pregnant women with and without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
(GDM). DESIGN: Thirty control pregnant Caucasian women without GDM and
thirty Body Mass Index (BMI) and age-matched Caucasian women with GDM
examined in the outpatient clinic between the 24(th) and 26(th) week of
their pregnancy and on the 3(rd) day postpartum underwent anthropometry
and had serum blood taken. Both groups, were monitored by a dietitian
and had comparable weight gain during pregnancy. Birth weight was also
measured. RESULTS: At the 3(rd) day postpartum, compared to the 2(nd)
trimester of pregnancy, women with GDM had lower serum: adiponectin
levels, lower serum IL-1 beta levels and lower Homeostasis Model
Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) values. At the 2(nd)
trimester of pregnancy, women with GDM had lower serum adiponectin
levels, higher IL-1 beta and higher HOMA-IR values compared to women
without GDM. At the 3(rd) day postpartum, women with GDM had lower serum
adiponectin levels, higher IL-1 beta and higher HOMA-IR values compared
to women without GDM. Second trimester serum adiponectin values of women
with GDM correlated negatively with birth weight. CONCLUSIONS:
Gestational diabetes is a state of insulin resistance associated with
altered levels of proinflammatory cytokines, increased IL-1 beta and
decreased adiponectin values. Both of these alterations might be
attributed to placental pathology in pregnancies with GDM
