Midtrimester amniotic fluid leptin and insulin levels and subsequent gestational diabetes.

Aims: To evaluate midtrimester amniotic fluid leptin levels in pregnancies subsequently complicated by gestational diabetes.

Methods: We studied 32 pregnant women with gestational diabetes and a control group of 43 normal pregnancies with an adequate gestational age fetus. All underwent a midtrimester amniocentesis: leptin and insulin were measured in the amniotic fluid. Data were compared with the Mann-Whitney U-test.

Results: Median leptin concentrations in the amniotic fluid of the gestational diabetes mellitus patients were significantly higher than in the control group (15.1 vs. 7.9 ng/ml) (p = 0.001); amniotic insulin concentrations were also higher in the gestational diabetes mellitus than in the control group (0.67 vs. 0.38 microU/ml) (p = 0.02). Furthermore, amniotic fluid leptin levels were directly correlated with amniotic insulin concentrations; instead, there was no correlation with maternal BMI and birth weight.

Conclusion: Our data suggest that in pregnancies subsequently complicated by gestational diabetes, amniotic fluid leptin and insulin levels are higher in the early fetal period.