Background
Whether the delivery of a large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infant predicts future maternal metabolic syndrome (MetS) is not known. To this
Conclusion
An LGA delivery in women with GDM is associated with a higher risk of future MetS and this group is optimal to study preventive measures for MetS. In contrast, an LGA delivery after a normoglycemic pregnancy was not associated with an increased future maternal MetS risk.
Methods
Eight hundred seventy six women treated for their pregnancies in Kuopio University Hospital in 1989-2009 underwent a follow-up study (mean follow-up time 7.3 (SD 5.1) years), of whom 489 women with GDM and 385 normoglycemic controls. The women were stratified into two groups according to the newborn's birth weight: 10-90th percentile (appropriate-for-gestational-age; AGA) (n = 662) and > 90th percentile (LGA) (n = 116). MetS and its components were evaluated in the follow-up study according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria.
Results
LGA vs. AGA delivery was associated with a higher incidence of MetS at follow-up in women with a background of GDM (54.4% vs. 43.6%), but not in women without GDM.