Sex-Specific Associations of Maternal Gestational Glycemia with Hormones in Umbilical Cord Blood at Delivery

Abstract

Background Few studies have examined sex-specific associations of maternal gestational glycemia with cord blood hormones, which might predict later health.

Methods In 976 women without pre-existing diabetes in the Project Viva cohort, we used linear regression to examine associations of maternal gestational glycemia with cord hormone concentrations, adjusted for maternal characteristics and stratified by infant sex.

Results A total of 6.1% of women had gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), 8.8% isolated hyperglycemia, 3.2% gestational impaired glucose tolerance, and 81.9% were normoglycemic. In boys, compared with infants of normoglycemic mothers, infants of GDM mothers had higher cord levels of IGF-2 (β 35.55 ng/mL; 95% CI: 2.60, 68.50), IGFBP-3 (111.2 ng/mL; 5.53, 216.8), insulin (4.66 uU/mL; 2.38, 6.95), C-peptide (0.46 ng/mL; 0.25, 0.67), and leptin (3.51 ng/mL; 1.37, 5.64), but lower IGF-1 (−6.71 ng/mL; −12.7, − 0.76, adjusted for IGFBP-3). In girls, GDM offspring had higher cord blood levels of IGF-1 adjusted for IGFBP-3 (12.45 ng/mL; 4.85, 20.04). Boys, but not girls, of mothers with abnormal glucose tolerance but not GDM also had higher levels of some hormones.

Conclusion GDM was associated with growth factors and adipokines in cord blood from boys, but only IGF-1 in girls. These findings suggest sex differences in responses to fetal overnutrition.

Keywords

gestational diabetes mellitus - pregnancy - umbilical cord blood - hormones - insulin-like growth factor (IGF) - leptin - C-peptide

Note

These results were presented in part at the 2015 Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group of North America (DPSG-NA) meeting.

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