Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT834

Introduction: Maternal obesity is a global public health concern, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) stands as the most common pregnancy complication. Both conditions are linked to adverse outcomes in offspring, including increased birth weight and an elevated risk of developing obesity and chronic diseases later in life.

Objective: To evaluate the association of maternal obesity and GDM with fetal growth indicators at birth and placental weight.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis is based on data from mother-child dyads attending the Gynecology Service at Hospital General de México. The inclusion criteria were: 1) singleton pregnancy, 2) maternal age ≥18 years, and 3) either gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or an uncomplicated pregnancy. Women with systemic diseases or preeclampsia were excluded. Maternal and newborn data were obtained from clinical records. Fetal growth indicators included birth weight, birth length, abdominal circumference, and cephalic circumference. Descriptive analyses were conducted to characterize the study sample, and multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the association of GDM and maternal obesity with fetal growth indicators. The models were adjusted for maternal age, newborn sex, gestational age at birth, and gestational weight gain. An interaction between GDM and pre-gestational BMI category were tested to evaluate if having both conditions affected the association with growth indicators. All analyses were performed in STATA 15. This research receive funding from the Secretaría de Educación, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SECTEI/1492023).

Results: A total of 74 mother-child dyads were included in the study. Among them, 39.2% (n= 29) had GDM, while 60.8% (n= 45) had normoevolutive pregnancies. The mean maternal age was 25.9 (6.2) years. Newborns of mothers with GDM were shorter (β=-1.08, P = 0.045) compared to those of mothers without GDM. Regarding cephalic circumference, newborns of mothers with obesity had larger values (β=1.6, P = 0.027). However, the interaction term with GDM was significant (β=-1.9, P = 0.078), indicating that when both conditions were present in mothers, the cephalic circumference was reduced compared to newborns of mothers without obesity and GDM. Neither GDM nor maternal obesity were associated with birth weight, abdominal circumference, or placental weight.

Conclusions: GDM was associated with a reduction in birth length, while maternal obesity was linked to an increased cephalic circumference. However, when both GDM and obesity were present in mothers, newborns had a significantly smaller cephalic circumference. These findings suggest that GDM may negatively impact fetal growth.