Early pregnancy triglycerides and not fructosamine are associated with birth weight (with foetal sexual dimorphism).

Abstract

We evaluated whether maternal triglycerides (TGs) or fructosamine (measured in early pregnancy) predominantly contribute to birth weight (BW), in a foetal sexual dimorphism. Analysis of data from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development cohort study (total n= 3514). Maternal nonfasting TGs and fructosamine were determined in early gestation (median 13 weeks). Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to determine whether maternal TGs or fructosamine was associated with BW-small for gestational age (SGA)-large for gestational age (LGA) and whether it was sex-dependent. With each 1 mmol/L increase in TGs, BW increased significantly by 81.7g. This increase was larger with boys (107.3g; 95% CI 66-148) than girls (60.5g; 95% CI 23.6-97.4). No association was found with fructosamine. When including different covariates (gestational age at blood sampling, total duration of pregnancy, maternal height, age, parity, ethnicity, educational level, smoking, alcohol, and pre-pregnancy BMI), 29% of the variance in BW can be explained. Adding fructosamine to this model gave no added value in predicting BW, in contrast to adding TGs (R2 raised from 0.292 to 0.299, p< .001). The odds of a newborn LGA with higher maternal TG were increased (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3-2.0), in contrast to fructosamine. Maternal TGs were more dominant (compared to fructosamine) in its association with BW (measured in early physiological pregnancy) and more prominently present when carrying a male foetus. These remarkable observations warrant more future research, especially in obese patients at risk for gestational diabetes.