Baseline characteristics of the study population
The present study included 1,058 women, with a median age of 33 years (IQR: 30–35 years) who completed the 100-g OGTT between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation. Among them, 257 women, with a median age of 34 years (IQR: 31–36 years) were diagnosed with GDM.
Table 1 presents the baseline characteristics of the study participants. Family history of diabetes mellitus (25.7% vs. 17.7%) and GDM (5.5% vs. 0.6%) was more prevalent in the GDM group than in the normal group. The pre-gestational BMI was 21.6 kg/m2 (IQR: 19.7–24.0 kg/m2) in the GDM group and 20.3 kg/m2 (IQR: 18.9–22.3 kg/m2) in the normal group. HbA1c at 26 gestational weeks was 34 mmol/mol (5.3%) (IQR: 32–37 mmol/mol, [5.1–5.5%]) and 33 mmol/mol (5.2%) (IQR: 31–37 mmol/mol [5.0–5.5%]) in the GDM and normal groups, respectively (P =0.002). The median levels of glucose during the 100-g OGTT in the GDM group were 84 mg/dL (IQR: 78–91), 185 mg/dL (IQR: 168–198), 173 mg/dL (IQR: 161–188), and 150 mg/dL (IQR: 141–164) at baseline, 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h, respectively. Systolic (116.3 mmHg vs. 112.8 mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure (69.3 mmHg vs. 66.8 mmHg) at 26 weeks of gestation were significantly higher in the GDM group than in the normal group. Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was significantly higher in the GDM group than in the normal group (1.31 vs. 0.94,P <0.001). However, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and HDL-cholesterol levels measured at 26 gestational weeks were comparable between the groups.