Association between insulin resistance and haematological parameters in pregnant women: A cross‑sectional study

Abstract

Limited research has been conducted on the association between insulin resistance (IR) and haematological parameters, such as red cell distribution width, white blood cell count and mean platelet volume. To date, at least to the best of our knowledge, there are no published data available on IR and haematological parameters during pregnancy. In the present study, pregnant women were initially screened for gestational diabetes. Glucose tolerance tests and fasting plasma insulin (FPI) measurements were conducted between 24-28 weeks of gestational age. Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), HOMA-β indices and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) were determined and used to assess insulin sensitivity and β-cell function. A total of 105 non-diabetic pregnant women were included in the present analysis. The mean (± standard deviation) age, parity and gestational age were 28.3 (±5.6) years, 0.9 (±1.2) and 27.1 (±5.2) weeks, respectively. While there was a positive correlation between platelet count and HOMA-IR (r=0.251, P=0.009), there was no correlation between platelet count and the HOMA-β level in the pregnant women examined (n=105). No significant difference was observed in the haematological variables between women with IR (n=17) and women who did not display IR (n=88). On the whole, the present study demonstrates that platelet count is positively associated with IR. This indicates that haematological parameters may help identify pregnant women with IR. However, Further analyses are required in order to fully understand this association.