The effects of pre-pregnancy obesity and gestational weight gain on maternal lipid profiles, fatty acids and insulin resistance

Muge Gul Gulecoglu Onem; Canan Coker; Kemal Baysal; Sabahattin Altunyurt; Pembe Keskinoglu

doi:10.1515/jpm-2020-0540

Article

The effects of pre-pregnancy obesity and gestational weight gain on maternal lipid profiles, fatty acids and insulin resistance

Muge Gul Gulecoglu Onem , Canan Coker , Kemal Baysal , Sabahattin Altunyurt and Pembe Keskinoglu

Published/Copyright: April 23, 2021

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From the journal Journal of Perinatal Medicine Volume 49 Issue 7

Abstract

Objectives

Pregnancy is associated with physiological alterations in insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism. This study investigates the associations between pregestational body mass index (pBMI) and the rate of gestational weight gain (rGWG) in the second trimester with the biomarkers of lipid, fatty acids metabolism and insulin resistance.

Methods

Sixty nine pregnant women followed. The body weights of the pregnant women were measured and blood samples were obtained at 11–14th and 24–28th weeks of pregnancy. Glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, insulin levels and fatty acids were measured. Rate of GWG (kg/week) and The Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) were calculated. The pregnant women were stratified according to their pBMI and the 2nd trimester rGWG.

Results

The rate of GWG was significantly higher for the group with pBMI<25, compared to the group with pBMI≥25 (p=0.024). Triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol were significantly increased in the second trimester compared with the first trimester. Palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, myristic acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), arachidonic acid (AA), total omega-6 (n − 6) and omega-3 (n − 3) fatty acid levels and n − 6/n − 3 ratio were significantly higher in the second trimester. Glucose was significantly decreased and insulin was increased in the second trimester. In the overweight/obese group; HOMA-IR, insulin, AA, palmitoleic acid and stearic acid were found to be high in comparison to the group with low/normal pBMI. No parameters were associated with rGWG.

Conclusions

The changes in lipid parameters, free fatty acids, insulin and HOMA-IR in the second trimester were compatible with the changes in lipid metabolism and the development of insulin resistance. Pregestational BMI was shown to have a stronger influence on lipid profile, insulin resistance, and fatty acids than rGWG.

Keywords: fatty acids; gestational weight gain; insulin resistance; lipid profile; obesity; pregestational body mass index; pregnancy

Corresponding author: Muge Gul Gulecoglu Onem, MD, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Medical Faculty Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey, Phone: +90 506 627 31 34, E-mail: mugegl@hotmail.com

Funding source: Dokuz Eylul University

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2016.KB.SAG.037

Research funding: Dokuz Eylul University, Scientific Research Project Funds; 2016.KB.SAG.037.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
Ethical approval: The study was initiated after the approval of the Non-Interventional Research Ethics Committee of Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine (dated 05.05.2016, protocol number: 2669-GOA, decision number: 2016/12-13.

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Received: 2020-11-18

Accepted: 2021-02-19

Published Online: 2021-04-23

Published in Print: 2021-09-27

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2020-0540

Keywords for this article

fatty acids; gestational weight gain; insulin resistance; lipid profile; obesity; pregestational body mass index; pregnancy