Abstract
The purpose of the study was to clarify the alterations in serum leptin and soluble leptin receptor levels at term and early postpartum in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Twenty women with normal pregnancy and 20 with GDM were recruited and blood samples were taken on the day of delivery and Days 1, 3 and 5 after delivery. Serum leptin levels were significantly higher in women with GDM than in the controls before delivery and decreased significantly after delivery (p < 0.001). After delivery there were no significant differences in serum leptin concentrations between women with GDM and the controls. Serum soluble leptin receptor concentrations did not differ neither between the two groups, nor before or after delivery. Leptin may play a role in GDM through a positive correlation with insulin resistance.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by 973 program of China (2007CB948104), Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province (2007C23005) and Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Y2080076).
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.