Multiple correlations between cord blood leptin concentration and indices of neonatal growth.

Background And Aims: The discovery of a role for leptin in controlling fetal and neonatal growth suggests a fetal origin of some adult chronic diseases and has stimulated research into the mechanisms of action of leptin early in life. The aim of this study was to determine umbilical cord blood leptin levels and to evaluate their association with newborn growth indices.

Methods: Two hundred healthy newborns (89 males, 110 females, and one of undetermined gender; gestational ages ranging from 34-43 weeks) and their healthy mothers were enrolled in this study conducted at Moovsavi Hospital in Zanjan, Iran.

Serum ferritin concentration in gestational diabetes mellitus and risk of subsequent development of early postpartum diabetes mellitus.

Purpose: To compare the serum ferritin concentrations of normal pregnant women with those having gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to determine the possible role of ferritin in predicting pregnancy outcome and early development of postpartum glucose intolerance and diabetes mellitus.

Method: This case-control study consisted of 128 pregnant women (64 women with GDM and 64 age-matched healthy pregnant women) seen at a university hospital in Zanjan, Iran. Anthropometric measurements were determined, and serum ferritin, C-reactive protein, insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)), and hemoglobin levels were measured.