Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the participants according to study group
| Characteristic | Control 1 (n = 10) | GDM (n = 11) | Control 2 (n = 8) | Non-GDM overweight/obese (n = 7) | p value (ANOVA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal age (years) | 32 ± 1.5 | 34.3 ± 1.4 | 33.5 ± 2.4 | 33.7 ± 0.5 | NS |
| Gestational age (weeks) | 38.1 ± 0.2 | 38.9 ± 0.4 | 38.8 ± 0.2 | 39 ± 0.2b | 0.013 |
| Birthweight (g) | 3582 ± 104 | 4195 ± 239 | 3595 ± 136 | 3830 ± 181 | NS |
| Placental weight (g) | 647 ± 52 | 767 ± 74 | 661 ± 62 | 680 ± 109 | NS |
| Pre-pregnancy BMI (kg/m2) | 22.8 ± 1.2 | 30.6 ± 1.3a, | 21 ± 0.2 | 29 ± 1.0b | 0.0004 |
| Rate of pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity (%) | |||||
| BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 | 30 | 72.7 | 0 | 100 | |
| BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 | 0 | 36.3 | 0 | 28.6 | |
| Delivery BMI (kg/m2) | 29.1 ± 1.2 | 34.7 ± 0.9b | 27.3 ± 1.1 | 33.1 ± 1.2 | 0.0065 |
| Capillary HbA1c (late third trimester) | |||||
| (%) | 5c | 5.86 ± 0.55 | 5c | – | |
| (mmol/mol) | 31c | 40.64 ± 5.85 | 31c | ||
| Intervention during GDM pregnancy (n) | |||||
| Insulin + diet | – | 5 | – | – | |
| Diet | – | 6 | – | – |
Values are expressed as mean ± SEM, unless stated otherwise
The ‘Control 1’ cohort is the initial normoglycaemic control group, containing 30% overweight/obese women with a pre-pregnancy BMI > 25. ‘Control 2’ is a second normoglycaemic control group of non-obese women with a pre-pregnancy BMI < 25
‘Overweight/obese GDM’ comprise of a subset of ‘GDM’ participants
Differences were tested using the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by Dunn’s multiple comparisons test
aStatistically significant compared with Control 1
bStatistically significant compared with Control 2
cHbA1c was not measured in normal pregnancies; reference values during the third trimester were those measured by Neilsen et al [21]