Fetal adrenal gland size in gestational diabetes mellitus
-
Tim Hetkamp
,
Kerstin Hammer
Abstract
Background
The aim of this study was to compare the adrenal gland size of fetuses of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with that of healthy control fetuses.
Methods
This prospective cross-sectional study included measurements of the adrenal gland size of 62 GDM fetuses (GDM group) and 370 normal controls (control group) between the 19th and 41st week of gestation. A standardized transversal plane was used to measure the total width and the medulla width. The cortex width and an adrenal gland ratio (total width/medulla width) were calculated from these data. Adrenal gland size measurements were adjusted to the week of gestation and compared between the two groups in a multivariable linear regression analysis. A variance decomposition metric was used to compare the relative importance of predictors of the different adrenal gland size measurements.
Results
For all the investigated parameters of the adrenal gland size, increased values were found in the case of GDM (P < 0.05), while adjusting for the week of gestation. GDM seems to have a greater impact on the size of the cortex than on the size of the medulla.
Conclusion
The fetal adrenal gland is enlarged in pregnancy complicated by GDM. The width of the cortex seems to be particularly affected.
Acknowledgments
We thank everyone who voluntarily dedicated their time and effort.
Author contributions: T. Hetkamp: data collection, data management, data analysis, manuscript writing; K. Hammer: data collection, manuscript editing; L. Kerschke: data analysis, manuscript editing; M. Möllers: data collection, manuscript editing; H.A. Köster: manuscript editing; M.K. Falkenberg: data collection, manuscript editing; J. Braun: data collection, manuscript editing; K. Oelmeier de Murcia: data collection, manuscript editing; W. Klockenbusch: manuscript editing; R. Schmitz: conceptualization, data collection, manuscript editing. All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
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©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Corner of Academy
- Multi-center results on the clinical use of KANET
- The use of atosiban prolongs pregnancy in patients treated with fetoscopic endotracheal occlusion (FETO)
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Evidence that intra-amniotic infections are often the result of an ascending invasion – a molecular microbiological study
- Advanced technology in obstetric education: a high-fidelity simulator for operative vaginal delivery
- Fetal adrenal gland size in gestational diabetes mellitus
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- Original Articles – Fetus
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- Original Articles – Newborns
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- Acknowledgment
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Corner of Academy
- Multi-center results on the clinical use of KANET
- The use of atosiban prolongs pregnancy in patients treated with fetoscopic endotracheal occlusion (FETO)
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Evidence that intra-amniotic infections are often the result of an ascending invasion – a molecular microbiological study
- Advanced technology in obstetric education: a high-fidelity simulator for operative vaginal delivery
- Fetal adrenal gland size in gestational diabetes mellitus
- Characteristics of obstetric admissions to intensive care unit: APACHE II, SOFA and the Glasgow Coma Scale
- An investigation of vitamin and mineral supplement recommendation among first-trimester pregnancies
- Original Articles – Fetus
- Twin fetal facial expressions at 30–33+6 weeks of gestation
- Measurement of inferior facial angle and prefrontal space ratio in first trimester fetuses with aneuploidies: a retrospective study
- Original Articles – Newborns
- Factors affecting cerebrovascular reactivity to CO2 in premature infants
- Subcutaneous fat necrosis, a rare but serious side effect of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and whole-body hypothermia
- Point-of-care ultrasound for peripherally inserted central catheter monitoring: a pilot study
- Acknowledgment
