Exploring the Relationship Between Maternal Circulating Hormones and Gestational Weight Gain in Women Without Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Baseline Characteristics of Participants

	Recommended (n=34)	Excessive (n=35)	p-value
GWG	14.0 ± 1.3	19.6 ± 3.2	<0.001
Pre-pregnancy BMI (kg/m^2)	23.2 ± 1.8	23.4 ± 1.8	0.79
Pre-pregnancy weight (kg)	62.1 ± 5.7	64.2 ± 6.0	0.15
Age (years)	34.3 ± 4.1	34.9 ± 4.6	0.54
Ethnicity			0.38
Caucasian	24 (71%)	30 (86%)
South Asian	4 (12%)	3 (9%)
East/Southeast Asian	5 (15%)	2 (6%)
Unknown	1 (3%)	0
Parity			0.38
1	4 (12%)	6 (17%)
2	24 (71%)	18 (51%)
3	5 (15%)	10 (29%)
4	1 (3%)	1 (3%)
Length of gestation (d)	272 ± 3	273 ± 5	0.22
Birth weight (g)	3471 ± 363	3565 ± 394	0.31
Fetal length (cm)	50.7 ± 2.0	51.5 ± 2.0	0.10
Placental weight (g)	687 ± 128	672 ± 116	0.64

Figure 1 Difference in circulating factors between women with recommended (n=34) vs excessive (n=35) gestational weight gain.

Table 2 Estimated Mean and Median Differences in Circulating Factors Between Women with Recommended (n=34) Vs Excessive (n=35) Gestational Weight Gain in Linear (Mean) and Quantile (Median) Regression Analyses Adjusting for Pre-Pregnancy BMI

	Estimated Mean Difference	95% CI for Mean Difference	Estimated Median Difference	95% CI for Median Difference
Leptin (ng/mL)	9.45	1.31, 17.58	5.59	0.68, 10.94
Prolactin (ng/mL)	−34.3	−71.3, 2.7	−31.2	−57.3, 15.4
Oestradiol (pmol/L)	−658.7	−16,349.3, 15,031.9	−3210.9	−11,451.9, 11,642.8
Progesterone (nmol/L)	42.4	−57.2, 141.9	24.8	−37.9, 123.8
Insulin (IU/mL)	3.43	−4.04, 10.89	8.43	0.02, 17.79
IGF-1 (ng/mL)	−4.43	−17.17, 8.31	−4.27	−14.65, 4.15
IGFBP-3 (ng/mL)	−655.2	−1586.2, 275.9	−430.6	−1530.0, 564.7

Table 3 Regression Analyses for Relationship Between Circulating Factors and GWG as a Continuous Variable, Adjusting for Pre-Pregnancy BMI.

	Estimated Mean Difference	95% CI for Mean Difference
Leptin (ng/mL)	1.88	0.81, 2.95
Prolactin (ng/mL)	−3.11	−8.28, 2.07
Estradiol (pmol/L)	−983.6	−3134.3, 1167.0
Progesterone (nmol/L)	−0.48	−14.29, 13.32
Insulin (IU/mL)	0.40	−0.63, 1.44
IGF-1 (ng/mL)	0.02	−1.75, 1.78
IGFBP-3 (ng/mL)	−61.1	−190.6, 68.3

Note: Values are expressed as change in circulating factor for 1 kg increase in GWG.