<b><i>Introduction and Objective:</i></b> The weight gained during pregnancy could determine the immediate and future health of the mother-child dyad. Excessive gestational weight gain (EGWG) due to abnormal adipose tissue (AT) accumulation is strongly associated with adverse perinatal outcomes as gestational diabetes, macrosomia, obesity, and hypertension further in life. Dysregulation of adipokine, AT dysfunction, and an imbalance in the prooxidant-antioxidant systems are critical features in altered AT accumulation. This study was aimed to investigate the association between adipokines and oxidative stress markers in pregnant women and the influence of the GWG on this association. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Maternal blood samples were obtained in the third trimester of pregnancy (<i>n</i> = 74) and serum adipokines (adiponectin, leptin, and resistin), oxidative damage markers: 8-oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), lipohydroperoxides (LOOH), malondialdehyde (MDA), and carbonylated proteins (CP), and glucose a metabolic marker were measured. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Women with EGWG had low adiponectin levels than women with adequate weight gain (AWG) or insufficient weight gain (IWG). Multiple linear regression models revealed a positive association between adiponectin and 8-oxodG in women with AWG (<i>B</i> = 1.09, 95% CI: 164–222, <i>p</i> = 0.027) and IWG (<i>B</i> = 0.860, 95% CI: 0.199–1.52, <i>p</i> = 0.013) but not in women with EGWG. In women with EGWG, leptin was positively associated with LOOH (<i>p</i> = 0.018), MDA (<i>p</i> = 0.005), and CP (<i>p</i> = 0.010) oxidative markers. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Our findings suggest that concurrent mechanisms regulate adipokine production and oxidative stress in pregnant women and that this regulation is influenced by GWG, probably due to an excessive AT accumulation.

Obesity in pregnant women has been associated with an increased risk of maternal complications, including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a process that is related to oxidative stress (OS). To evaluate the biomarkers of OS in red blood cells (RBCs), we assigned 80 pregnant women to one of three groups: control (n = 28), overweight (n = 26) and obese (n = 26). Then, we measured in plasma, the levels of glucose, triacylglycerol (TAG), insulin, free fatty acids (FFAs), leptin and cytokines (e.g. interleukin-6 [IL-6] and tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha]) and OS biomarkers, such as lipohydroperoxides (LHP), malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonylation (PC) in RBCs. We found significant positive correlations between OS biomarkers, body mass index (BMI) and pregnancy progression. Seven (26.9%) obese women who were diagnosed with GDM at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy showed significantly increased concentrations of FFAs, insulin, leptin, TNF-alpha and biomarkers of OS measured at 12-13 weeks of gestation. We propose to quantify LHP, MDA and PC in membranes of erythrocytes as possible markers to diagnose GDM from weeks 12-14.