Markers of Insulin Sensitivity in 12-Year-Old Children Born from Preeclamptic Pregnancies.

Objective: To determine whether maternal preeclampsia influences insulin sensitivity (IS) or its biochemical markers in offspring.

Study Design: Sixty children born from a preeclamptic pregnancy (PRE) and 60 matched control subjects born from a normotensive pregnancy (non-PRE) were studied at age 12 years. IS was estimated using the Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI), and serum concentrations of adiponectin, leptin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF-2, IGF-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1), sex hormone-binding globulin, lipids, and casual blood pressure (BP) were measured.

Results: The mean values of QUICKI, serum adiponectin, leptin, IGF-1, IGF-2, IGFBP-1, and sex hormone-binding globulin did not differ between the PRE group and non-PRE group (P > .05 for all). The PRE subjects with the lowest IS (the lowest QUICKI tertile; n = 20) had significantly higher mean serum leptin (P = .007), triglyceride (P = .008), and IGF-1 (P = .005) levels and systolic BP (P = .019), and lower serum IGFBP-1 level (P = .007) compared with PRE subjects with higher QUICKI values (n = 40). Similarly, in logistic regression analysis, higher serum leptin (OR, 1.2; P = .009), triglyceride (OR, 1.2; P = .040), and IGF-1 (OR, 1.1; P = .031) levels and systolic BP (OR, 5.8; P = .024) were associated with low QUICKI in the PRE group.

Conclusion: Maternal preeclampsia did not produce decreased IS in offspring by age of 12 years. However, the offspring with the lowest IS had higher mean serum triglyceride level and systolic BP, suggesting that components of the metabolic syndrome may cluster in this subgroup.