Association between C-reactive protein and gestational diabetes: a prospective study

Abstract

Studies that examined the impacts of inflammatory factors on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are very sparse. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between C-reactive protein (CRP) and the risk of GDM. Pregnant women who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and their gestational ages were below 10 weeks were recruited to this cohort study and were followed up until the 24–28 weeks of gestation. At the first pre-natal care visit blood samples were taken from all the pregnant women to investigate the serum concentration of CRP and fasting blood sugar. At 24–28 weeks of gestation, an oral glucose tolerance test was done to diagnose GDM as routine. About 5% of the women participating in the study were diagnosed as having GDM. There was a significant association between the increased serum concentration of CRP in the first trimester and the risk of GDM. The risk of GDM in women with the highest serum concentration of CRP is three times higher than that of women with the lowest serum concentration of CRP. Systemic inflammation can be associated with increased risk of gestational diabetes.

Impact statement

• What is already known on this subject? Multiple studies have shown that chronic inflammation can increase the risk of developing type2 diabetes. There is incertitude as to the best attitude for screening and diagnosis of GDM. The studies were examined the impacts of inflammatory factors on GDM is very restricted.

• What do the results of this study add? CRP level measurement in the first trimester can be considered as a screening test. This is an easy and cost-effective test to make decision for performing oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks of pregnancy.

• What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? The results of this study could give physicians and other health care providers the hint that increasing serum CRP levels in early pregnancy can be a risk factor for gestational diabetes.

Keywords:

• C-reactive protein
• gestational diabetes
• inflammatory factors

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all patients who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Author contributions

PM, and SHA participated in the study design and coordination. SHA and JZ contributed to sample collection. MN performed statistical analysis. All authors were involved in drafting the manuscript, corrected. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.