Carbohydrate intake during early pregnancy is inversely associated with abnormal glucose challenge test results in Japanese pregnant women.

Background: In East Asian countries, which have a high prevalence of underweight individuals, there is little information about the association between dietary factors and abnormal glucose tolerance during pregnancy. We examined the association between carbohydrate intake and moderately abnormal glucose tolerance in Japanese pregnant women.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study on 325 Japanese pregnant women without a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus prior to pregnancy.

Second trimester postload glucose level as an important predictor of low birth weight infants: Tanaka Women's Clinic Study.

Although it is well known that the maternal prepregnancy BMI is a strong contributor to fetal growth, our results showed that a low postload glucose level, although within normal range, independent of maternal BMI was strongly associated with an increased risk of low birth weight births among Japanese mothers.

Low BMI at age 20 years predicts gestational diabetes independent of BMI in early pregnancy in Japan: Tanaka Women's Clinic Study.

Aims: Maternal obesity and weight gain since early adulthood are known predictors of gestational diabetes in Western countries. However, their impact has not been evaluated well in Asia, where mean BMI levels are generally lower than in Western countries. We therefore examined the associations of BMI at age 20 years and BMI change since age 20 years with the risk of gestational diabetes in Japanese pregnant women.

Contribution of first trimester fasting plasma insulin levels to the incidence of glucose intolerance in later pregnancy: Tanaka women's clinic study.

Aims: To clarify risk factors predictive of glucose intolerance in later pregnancy.

Methods: We prospectively studied 509 pregnant women who visited the obstetrics clinic in Tokyo prior to week 13 of gestation, between September 2008 and January 2010. Biochemical parameters were measured in fasting plasma samples collected at week 8.