Obesity in pregnancy as a model to identify women at risk for later metabolic syndrome

Abstract Objectives Research suggests birth control (BC) use alters blood lipids in women. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in metabolic syndrome risk between birth control users vs. nonusers in a sample of female college students, 18–24 years old. Methods Data were collected between 2005–18 from the College Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey, an ongoing, cross-sectional study conducted at a midsized, northeastern university. Anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical measures were obtained in the fasted state and used to determine metabolic syndrome (MetS) prevalence. BC use was self-reported. Proportional differences between BC vs. non-BC users of MetS and individual MetS components were evaluated via chi-square tests. Results Forty-five % of the final sample (n = 6456) reported using BC. MetS (≥3 MetS criteria) was present in 3.9% of students; 16.7% of students had ≥ 2 MetS criteria. BC users vs. nonusers were more likely to have at-risk triglyceride levels (22.4 vs. 11.0%, P < .001) but less likely to have at-risk HDL levels (21.2 vs. 27.7%, P < .001) and abdominal obesity (14.3% vs. 16.4, P < .05). No significant differences were observed in prevalence of elevated blood pressure or glucose between BC users vs. nonusers. Overall, MetS prevalence did not differ between groups (3.8 vs. 3.9%, P = .85). Conclusions Our findings suggest BC use is common and impacts different MetS criteria in college females. College health providers and nutrition educators can utilize research findings to tailor information for female students at risk for MetS and chronic disease. Funding Sources New Hampshire Agriculture Experiment Station and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Project 1,010,738.

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Applying a social disparities lens to obesity in pregnancy to inform efforts to intervene

Midwifery ◽

10.1016/j.midw.2012.01.016 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 338-343 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Georgina Sutherland ◽

Stephanie Brown ◽

Jane Yelland

Keyword(s):

Social Disparities ◽

Obesity In Pregnancy ◽

In Pregnancy

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Fetoplacental Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction as an Early Phenomenon in the Programming of Human Adult Diseases in Subjects Born from Gestational Diabetes Mellitus or Obesity in Pregnancy

Experimental Diabetes Research ◽

10.1155/2011/349286 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Andrea Leiva ◽

Fabián Pardo ◽

Marco A. Ramírez ◽

Marcelo Farías ◽

Paola Casanello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nitric Oxide ◽

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Gestational Diabetes ◽

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Convincing Evidence ◽

Amino Acid Transporters ◽

Pathological State ◽

Metabolic Marker ◽

Obesity In Pregnancy ◽

In Pregnancy

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and obesity in pregnancy (OP) are pathological conditions associated with placenta vascular dysfunction coursing with metabolic changes at the fetoplacental microvascular and macrovascular endothelium. These alterations are seen as abnormal expression and activity of the cationic amino acid transporters and endothelial nitric oxide synthase isoform, that is, the “endothelial L-arginine/nitric oxide signalling pathway.” Several studies suggest that the endogenous nucleoside adenosine along with insulin, and potentially arginases, are factors involved in GDM-, but much less information regards their role in OP-associated placental vascular alterations. There is convincing evidence that GDM and OP prone placental endothelium to an “altered metabolic state” leading to fetal programming evidenced at birth, a phenomenon associated with future development of chronic diseases. In this paper it is suggested that this pathological state could be considered as a metabolic marker that could predict occurrence of diseases in adulthood, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes mellitus (including gestational diabetes), and metabolic syndrome.

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A Three-Month Consumption of Eggs Enriched with ω-3, ω-5 and ω-7 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Significantly Decreases the Waist Circumference of Subjects at Risk of Developing Metabolic Syndrome: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13020663 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 663

Author(s):

Monique T. Ngo Njembe ◽

Barbara Pachikian ◽

Irina Lobysheva ◽

Nancy Van Overstraeten ◽

Louis Dejonghe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

At Risk ◽

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Waist Circumference ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Density Lipoprotein ◽

Test Group ◽

Double Blind ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

The Metabolic Syndrome

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), rumenic acid (RmA), and punicic acid (PunA) are claimed to influence several physiological functions including insulin sensitivity, lipid metabolism and inflammatory processes. In this double-blind randomized controlled trial, we investigated the combined effect of ALA, DHA, RmA and PunA on subjects at risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Twenty-four women and men were randomly assigned to two groups. Each day, they consumed two eggs enriched with oleic acid (control group) or enriched with ALA, DHA, RmA, and PunA (test group) for 3 months. The waist circumference decreased significantly (−3.17 cm; p < 0.001) in the test group. There were no major changes in plasma insulin and blood glucose in the two groups. The dietary treatments had no significant effect on endothelial function as measured by peripheral arterial tonometry, although erythrocyte nitrosylated hemoglobin concentrations tended to decrease. The high consumption of eggs induced significant elevations in plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL)- and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (p < 0.001), which did not result in any change in the LDL/HDL ratio in both groups. These results indicate that consumption of eggs enriched with ALA, DHA, RmA and PunA resulted in favorable changes in abdominal obesity without affecting other factors of the metabolic syndrome.

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