No abstract

ClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00319410

Aim We investigated association of maternal retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) with risk of gestational diabetes (GDM). Methods GDM cases (N=173) and controls (N=187) were selected from among participants of a cohort study of risk factors of pregnancy complications. Early pregnancy (16 weeks on average) serum RBP4 concentration was measured using an ELISA-based immunoassay. Logistic regression was used to estimate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs/aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results Mean serum RBP4 was significantly higher among GDM cases compared with controls (47.1 vs. 41.1 μg/ml, respectively; p-value<0.05). Participants in the highest quartile for serum RBP4 had a 1.89-fold higher risk of GDM compared with participants in the lowest quartile (95%CI: 1.05-3.43). However, this relationship did not reach statistical significance after adjustment for confounders (aOR: 1.54; 95%CI: 0.82-2.90). Women who were ≥35 years old and who had high RBP4 (≥38.3 μg/ml, the median) had a 2.31-fold higher risk of GDM compared with women who were < 35 years old and had low RBP4 (<38.3 μg/ml) (aOR: 2.31; 95%CI: 1.26-4.23; p-value for interaction=0.021). Conclusion Overall, there is modest evidence of a positive association of early pregnancy elevated RBP4 concentration with increased GDM risk, particularly among women with advanced age.

We examined associations of age at menarche and menstrual characteristics with the risk of preeclampsia among participants (n = 3,365) of a pregnancy cohort study. Data were collected using in-person interviews and medical record abstraction. Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). There was a significant inverse association between age at menarche and risk of preeclampsia (P value for trend < 0.05). Association of long cycle length (>36 days) with higher risk of preeclampsia was present only among women who had prepregnancy body mass index <25 kg/m2 (interaction P value = 0.04). Early menarche is associated with higher risk of preeclampsia. Prepregnancy weight may modify associations of long menstrual cycles with risk of preeclampsia.