Table 1.
Characteristics of participants, by the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome
| Overall | Metabolic syndrome at follow-up | No metabolic syndrome at follow-up (<3 CVD risk factors) | P value | ||
| n | 220 | 134 | 86 | ||
| Variables measured at baseline | |||||
| Age (years) | Mean (SD) | 30.8 (5.9) | 32.0 (5.7) | 29.0 (5.7) | <0.001 |
| BMI at booking (kg/m2) | Mean (SD) | 34.2 (8.2) | 36.2 (7.3) | 32.2 (8.5) | <0.001 |
| BMI categories at booking, n (%) | Normal | 31 (14.5) | 7 (5.2) | 24 (27.9) | <0.001 |
| Overweight | 38 (17.8) | 17 (12.7) | 21 (24.4) | ||
| Obese | 96 (44.9) | 76 (56.7) | 26 (30.2) | ||
| Morbidly obese | 49 (22.9) | 34 (25.4) | 15 (17.4) | ||
| HFDP type, n (%) | DIP | 70 (31.8) | 18 (22.1) | 52 (38.8) | 0.01 |
| GDM | 150 (68.2) | 67 (77.9) | 82 (61.2) | ||
| Insulin treatment for HFDP, n (%) | Yes | 52 (23.6) | 39 (29.1) | 13 (15.1) | 0.017 |
| OGTT at HFDP diagnosis | |||||
| Fasting blood glucose (mmol/L) | Median (IQR) | 5.8 (5.1–6.7) | 6.1 (5.4–7.1) | 5.5 (4.9–6.3) | <0.001 |
| 1-hour blood glucose (mmol/L) | Median (IQR) | 10.4 (9.2–11.6) | 10.6 (9.5–11.9) | 10.0 (8.7–11.2) | 0.006 |
| Insulin treatment for HFDP, n (%) | Yes | 52 (23.6) | 39 (29.1) | 13 (15.1) | 0.017 |
| 2-hour glucose (mmol/L) | Median (IQR) | 9.0 (8.3–10.5) | 9.1 (8.4–1.0) | 8.8 (8.2–9.6) | 0.022 |
| Variables measured at follow-up | |||||
| Follow-up time (years) | Median (IQR) | 6.1 (2.8–11.0) | 5.6 (1.1–9.5) | 6.9 (4.8–12.8) | 0.002 |
| Education, n (%) | Tertiary | 30 (13.6) | 9 (6.7) | 21 (24.4) | 0.001 |
| Secondary and matric | 167 (75.9) | 109 (81.3) | 58 (67.4) | ||
| Primary | 23 (10.5) | 16 (11.9) | 7 (8.1) | ||
| Employed, n (%) | Yes | 108 (49.1) | 57 (42.5) | 51 (59.3) | 0.015 |
| Marital status, n (%) | Married | 141 (64.1) | 86 (64.2) | 55 (64.0) | 0.832 |
| Family history, n (%) | Diabetes | 169 (76.8) | 103 (76.9) | 66 (76.7) | 0.983 |
| Hypertension | 156 (70.9) | 98 (73.1) | 58 (67.4) | 0.364 | |
| Stroke and heart attack | 96 (43.6) | 59 (44.0) | 37 (43.0) | 0.883 | |
| Stopped drinking alcohol for health reasons, n (%) | Yes | 14 (6.4) | 10 (7.5) | 4 (4.7) | 0.486 |
| Current smoker, n (%) | Yes | 64 (29.1) | 37 (27.6) | 27 (31.4) | 0.547 |
| GPAQ total physical activity (min) | Median (IQR) | 450 (110–1405) | 420 (177.5–1502.5) | 375 (90–1280) | 0.274 |
| Subsequent pregnancy, n (%) | Yes | 58 (26.4) | 32 (23.9) | 26 (30.2) | 0.297 |
| Average breastfeeding length (months) | Median (IQR) | 6 (1–18) | 8 (1–18) | 6 (1–12) | 0.332 |
| Follow-up BMI (kg/m2) | Mean (SD) | 34.9 (8.7) | 36.8 (8.3) | 32.0 (8.6) | <0.001 |
| Weight gain (kg) | Median (IQR) | 2.0 (−4.6 to 9.0) | 1.5 (−7.0 to 9.0) | 3.3 (−3.1 to 7.9) | 0.511 |
| Follow-up BMI categories, n (%) | Normal | 24 (10.9) | 6 (4.5) | 18 (20.9) | <0.001 |
| Overweight | 44 (20.0) | 21 (15.7) | 23 (26.7) | ||
| Obese | 104 (47.3) | 70 (52.2) | 34 (39.5) | ||
| Morbidly obese | 48 (21.8) | 37 (27.6) | 11 (12.8) | ||
| Waist circumference (cm) | Mean (SD) | 110.5 (17.6) | 115.6 (16.9) | 102.3 (15.6) | <0.001 |
| Hip circumference (cm) | Mean (SD) | 117.3 (16.1) | 119.3 (15.7) | 113.9 (16.4) | 0.008 |
| Self-reported comorbidities, n (%) | Diabetes | 55 (25.0) | 45 (33.6) | 10 (11.6) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 44 (20.0) | 42 (31.3) | 2 (2.3) | <0.001 | |
| Dyslipidemia | 24 (10.9) | 22 (16.4) | 2 (2.3) | 0.001 | |
BMI, body mass index; CVD, cardiovascular disease; DIP, diabetes in pregnancy; GDM, gestational diabetes mellitus; GPAQ, Global Physical Activity Questionnaire; HFDP, hyperglycemia first detected in pregnancy; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test.