Abdominal fat in early pregnancy may be a sign of gestational diabetes

Women with high levels of abdominal fat during their first trimester of pregnancy are more likely to develop diabetes, a new study reveals.

Researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital in Canada said that women with this condition have an increased risk of developing diabetes at around 24 to 28 weeks of their pregnancy. The study, published in Diabetes Care, highlights the importance of screening patients in their early stages of pregnancy and the potential of using abdominal fat to predict the development of diabetes.

Identifying women with high levels of abdominal fat in early pregnancy could be done by taking pictures during routine clinical visits using ultrasound, noted Leanne De Souza, the study’s lead author and a PhD candidate in obstetrics and gynecology at St. Michael’s Hospital. She said that doctors traditionally screen patients for diabetes during their second or third trimester by looking at risk factors including age, ethnicity, body mass index, family history of diabetes and the results of a glucose challenge test.

However, these risk factors do not really determine who is at a high risk of diabetes, De Souza said. “Up to 60 per cent of women will start their pregnancy overweight, many women are having children at an older age, and most people have a family member with Type 2 diabetes, so traditional risk factors are starting to apply to more and more people, which prevent us from properly identifying those at a high risk.”

In the new study, the team observed nearly 500 women between 18 and 42 years old. The researchers used an ultrasound scan at 11 to 14 weeks’ gestation to measure visceral fat, subcutaneous fat and total fat in the abdominal region. Visceral fat builds up between and around internal organs such as the stomach and intestines and produces toxins that make the body resistant to insulin. Subcutaneous fat is found just beneath the skin, and total fat is the combination of visceral and subcutaneous fat.

Previous studies have shown that visceral fat can be a risk factor for developing diabetes. In the new research, the team suggests that both visceral and total abdominal fat are predictors of developing gestational diabetes.

The researches also cited earlier investigations, which have found that up to 20 to 50 percent of the women who developed gestational diabetes went on to develop Type 2 diabetes within five years after their pregnancy.

Screening patients for visceral and total fat in their early stages of pregnancy could be done to help doctors and health practitioners identify those at increased risk of gestational diabetes, De Souza said. She added that prevention efforts could involve promoting a healthy diet and lifestyle and helping patients avoid excess abdominal weight gain.

According to Diabetes Australia, pregnant women who have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes usually undergo a normal delivery without effects on the child’s long-term health. However, poorly controlled blood glucose levels during pregnancy can have long-term effects on the mother and baby or lead to complications during delivery.

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