Our results indicate strong, continuous associations of maternal glucose levels below those diagnostic of diabetes with increased birth weight and increased cord-blood serum C-peptide levels.

BACKGROUND It is controversial whether maternal hyperglycemia less severe than that in diabetes mellitus is associated with increased risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. METHODS A total of 25,505 pregnant women at 15 centers in nine countries underwent 75-g oral glucose-tolerance testing at 24 to 32 weeks of gestation. Data remained blinded if the fasting plasma glucose level was 105 mg per deciliter (5.8 mmol per liter) or less and the 2-hour plasma glucose level was 200 mg per deciliter (11.1 mmol per liter) or less. Primary outcomes were birth weight above the 90th percentile for gestational age, primary cesarean delivery, clinically diagnosed neonatal hypoglycemia, and cord-blood serum C-peptide level above the 90th percentile. Secondary outcomes were delivery before 37 weeks of gestation, shoulder dystocia or birth injury, need for intensive neonatal care, hyperbilirubinemia, and preeclampsia. RESULTS For the 23,316 participants with blinded data, we calculated adjusted odds ratios for adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with an increase in the fasting plasma glucose level of 1 SD (6.9 mg per deciliter [0.4 mmol per liter]), an increase in the 1-hour plasma glucose level of 1 SD (30.9 mg per deciliter [1.7 mmol per liter]), and an increase in the 2-hour plasma glucose level of 1 SD (23.5 mg per deciliter [1.3 mmol per liter]). For birth weight above the 90th percentile, the odds ratios were 1.38

OBJECTIVETo determine associations of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and obesity with adverse pregnancy outcomes in the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSParticipants underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) between 24 and 32 weeks. GDM was diagnosed post hoc using International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups criteria. Neonatal anthropometrics and cord serum C-peptide were measured. Adverse pregnancy outcomes included birth weight, newborn percent body fat, and cord C-peptide >90th percentiles, primary cesarean delivery, preeclampsia, and shoulder dystocia/birth injury. BMI was determined at the OGTT. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations of GDM and obesity with outcomes.RESULTSMean maternal BMI was 27.7, 13.7% were obese (BMI ≥33.0 kg/m2), and GDM was diagnosed in 16.1%. Relative to non-GDM and nonobese women, odds ratio for birth weight >90th percentile for GDM alone was 2.19 (1.93–2.47), for obesity alone 1.73 (1.50–2.00), and for both GDM and obesity 3.62 (3.04–4.32). Results for primary cesarean delivery and preeclampsia and for cord C-peptide and newborn percent body fat >90th percentiles were similar. Odds for birth weight >90th percentile were progressively greater with both higher OGTT glucose and higher maternal BMI. There was a 339-g difference in birth weight for babies of obese GDM women, compared with babies of normal/underweight women (64.2% of all women) with normal glucose based on a composite OGTT measure of fasting plasma glucose and 1- and 2-h plasma glucose values (61.8% of all women).CONCLUSIONSBoth maternal GDM and obesity are independently associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Their combination has a greater impact than either one alone.

OBJECTIVETo report frequencies of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among the 15 centers that participated in the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study using the new International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSAll participants underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test between 24 and 32 weeks’ gestation. GDM was retrospectively classified using the IADPSG criteria (one or more fasting, 1-h, or 2-h plasma glucose concentrations equal to or greater than threshold values of 5.1, 10.0, or 8.5 mmol/L, respectively).RESULTSOverall frequency of GDM was 17.8% (range 9.3–25.5%). There was substantial center-to-center variation in which glucose measures met diagnostic thresholds.CONCLUSIONSAlthough the new diagnostic criteria for GDM apply globally, center-to-center differences occur in GDM frequency and relative diagnostic importance of fasting, 1-h, and 2-h glucose levels. This may impact strategies used for the diagnosis of GDM.

The HAPO Study Cooperative Research Group* OBJECTIVE-To examine associations of neonatal adiposity with maternal glucose levels and cord serum C-peptide in a multicenter multinational study, the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study, thereby assessing the Pederson hypothesis linking maternal glycemia and fetal hyperinsulinemia to neonatal adiposity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-Eligible pregnantwomen underwent a standard 75-g oral glucose tolerance test between 24 and 32 weeks gestation (as close to 28 weeks as possible). Neonatal anthropometrics and cord serum C-peptide were measured. Associations of maternal glucose and cord serum C-peptide with neonatal adiposity (sum of skin folds Ͼ90th percentile or percent body fat Ͼ90th percentile) were assessed using multiple logistic regression analyses, with adjustment for potential confounders, including maternal age, parity, BMI, mean arterial pressure, height, gestational age at delivery, and the baby's sex.RESULTS-Among 23,316 HAPO Study participants with glucose levels blinded to caregivers, cord serum C-peptide results were available for 19,885 babies and skin fold measurements for 19,389. For measures of neonatal adiposity, there were strong statistically significant gradients across increasing levels of maternal glucose and cord serum C-peptide, which persisted after adjustment for potential confounders. In fully adjusted continuous variable models, odds ratios ranged from 1.35 to 1.44 for the two measures of adiposity for fasting, 1-h, and 2-h plasma glucose higher by 1 SD.CONCLUSIONS-These findings confirm the link between maternal glucose and neonatal adiposity and suggest that the relationship is mediated by fetal insulin production and that the Pedersen hypothesis describes a basic biological relationship influencing fetal growth.