Evaluation of the circulating serum endotrophin in women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus during second trimester

Abstract

Purpose: Endotrophin is a newly discovered adipokine, and its clinical utility in diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the possible association between endotrophin and GDM and determine its correlation with maternal metabolic parameters. Methods: Screening and diagnosis for GDM were carried out between the 24th and 28th weeks of gestation. The study included 50 patients with GDM and 37 healthy pregnant women. Endotrophin was assayed by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Results: The endotrophin level was significantly higher in the GDM group compared to uncomplicated pregnancies (121.98 ± 104.08 vs 72.5 ± 76.2, p < 0.05). Furthermore, the fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR values of and plasma glucose levels obtained at 1 and 2 h after 75 g oral glucose administration were significantly higher in the GDM group than in the control group (p < 0.05). The Spearman analysis showed a statistically significant correlation between the endotrophin level and the fasting glucose, first-hour glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and pre-pregnancy and current body mass indexes (BMI) in the GDM group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Although oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is still the gold standard in the diagnosis of GDM, considering the technical difficulties and disadvantages of OGTT, endotrophin measurement at 24–28 weeks of pregnancy in healthy risk-free pregnant women seems to be an appropriate approach to limit the use of OGTT.