BackgroundEvidence is accumulating for a role of vitamin D in maintaining normal glucose homeostasis. However, studies that prospectively examined circulating concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-[OH] D) in relation to diabetes risk are limited. Our objective is to determine the association between maternal plasma 25-[OH] D concentrations in early pregnancy and the risk for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).MethodsA nested case-control study was conducted among a prospective cohort of 953 pregnant women. Among them, 57 incident GDM cases were ascertained and 114 women who were not diagnosed with GDM were selected as controls. Controls were frequency matched to cases for the estimated season of conception of the index pregnancy.ResultsAmong women who developed GDM, maternal plasma 25-[OH] D concentrations at an average of 16 weeks of gestation were significantly lower than controls (24.2 vs. 30.1 ng/ml, P<0.001). This difference remained significant (3.62 ng/ml lower on average in GDM cases than controls (P value = 0.018)) after the adjustment for maternal age, race, family history of diabetes, and pre-pregnancy BMI. Approximately 33% of GDM cases, compared with 14% of controls (P<0.001), had maternal plasma 25-[OH] D concentrations consistent with a pre-specified diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml). After adjustment for the aforementioned covariates including BMI, vitamin D deficiency was associated with a 2.66-fold (OR (95% CI): 2.66 (1.01–7.02)) increased GDM risk. Moreover, each 5 ng/ml decrease in 25-[OH] D concentrations was related to a 1.29-fold increase in GDM risk (OR (95% CI): 1.29 (1.05–1.60)). Additional adjustment for season and physical activity did not change findings substantially.ConclusionsFindings from the present study suggest that maternal vitamin D deficiency in early pregnancy is significantly associated with an elevated risk for GDM.

In Peruvian women, low erythrocyte n-3 fatty acids appeared to be associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia.

Aims Alterations in organic acid biomarkers from fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism have been documented in type 2 diabetes patients. However, their association with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is largely unknown. Methods Participants were 25 GDM cases and 25 non-GDM controls. Biomarkers of fatty acid (adipate, suberate and ethylmalonate) and carbohydrate (pyruvate, l-lactate and β-hydroxybutyrate) metabolism were measured in maternal urine samples collected in early pregnancy (17 weeks) using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry methods. Logistic regression were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results GDM cases and controls differed in median urinary concentrations of ethylmalonate (3.0 vs. 2.3 µg/mg creatinine), pyruvate (7.4 vs. 2.1 µg/mg creatinine), and adipate (4.6 vs. 7.3 µg/mg creatinine) (all p-values <0.05). Women in the highest tertile for ethylmalonate or pyruvate concentrations had 11.4-fold (95%CI 1.10–117.48) and 3.27-fold (95%CI 0.72–14.79) increased risk of GDM compared with women in the lowest tertile for ethylmalonate and pyruvate concentrations, respectively. Women in the highest tertile for adipate concentrations, compared with women in the lowest tertile, had an 86% reduction in GDM risk (95%CI 0.02–0.97). Conclusions These preliminary findings underscore the importance of altered fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism in the pathogenesis of GDM.

These pilot data suggest that elevated n-6 HUFA and trans FA may play a role in CRPS pathogenesis. These findings should be replicated, and more research is needed to explore the clinical significance of low n-6 and trans FA diets with or without concurrent n-3 HUFA supplementation, for the management of CRPS.

A method is described for analyzing skin impedance data and applied to the determination of a steady‐state electrical model for intact human skin. An algorithm is presented for the analytical procedure, Bode analysis, and a sample impedance function is obtained. Bode plots are employed to synthesize a passive equivalent circuit from sample measurements of “black box” skin impedance magnitude and phase angle, and representative values for the circuit elements are presented.