Abstract
BACKGROUND: An increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) has been observed among women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus (pGDM). Increased inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) usually accompany. We performed this survey to examine the relationship between pGDM and MS, CRP and IL-6. METHODS: 77 women with pGDM and 67 randomly sampled women free from GDM participated in this study, 2-3 years after index pregnancy. Laboratory and anthropometric measurements were performed. MS was defined according to ATP III criteria. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 18. RESULTS: CRP were different between groups with and without pGDM [2.69 (2.86 mg/dl and 1.56 (1.39) mg/dl, respectively; p < 0.01]. The presence of each MS component by itself was associated with significantly higher CRP Levels, except for fasting blood glucose. In linear regression models, CRP and IL-6 were significantly associated with BMI (β =0. 25, 0.23; p < 0.01), waist circumference (β=0. 27, 0.05; p < 0.01) and HOMA-IR (β=0. 39, 0.39; p < 0.01). After adjustment for age and BMI the occurrence of pGDM in the group with both high CRP and MS was significantly associated with CRP level (OR= 5.11; CI=1.59-16.43; p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Since CRP and Il-6 were higher in women with both pGDM and MS it appears that the presence of pGDM with MS components have a synergistic effect on the elevation of serum levels of inflammatory markers which can be partly as a result of visceral obesity. Further long-term studies are necessary to confirm the relationship between CRP, IL-6 and MS in women with pGDM.