Low Birth Weight as a Risk Factor for Gestational Diabetes, Diabetes, and Impaired Glucose Tolerance During Pregnancy

Low birth weight is an important risk factor for impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes later in life. One hypothesis is that fetal β-cells inherit a persistent defect as a developmental response to fetal malnutrition, a primary cause of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Our understanding of fetal programing events in the human endocrine pancreas is limited, but several animal models of IUGR extend our knowledge of developmental programing in β-cells. Pathological outcomes such as β-cell dysfunction, impaired glucose tolerance, and diabetes are often observed in adult offspring from these animal models, similar to the associations of low birth weight and metabolic diseases in humans. However, the identified mechanisms underlying β-cell dysfunction across models and species are varied, likely resulting from the different methodologies used to induce experimental IUGR, as well as from intraspecies differences in pancreas development. In this review, we first present the evidence for human β-cell dysfunction being associated with low birth weight or IUGR. We then evaluate relevant animal models of IUGR, focusing on the strengths of each, in order to define critical periods and types of nutrient deficiencies that can lead to impaired β-cell function. These findings frame our current knowledge of β-cell developmental programing and highlight future research directions to clarify the mechanisms of β-cell dysfunction for human IUGR.

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Impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance are related to both heredity and low birth weight

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1080/14034940210165136 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 382-388 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ingrid Mogren ◽

Bernt Lindahl ◽

Ulf Högberg

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Low Birth Weight ◽

Glucose Tolerance ◽

Impaired Glucose Tolerance ◽

Impaired Fasting Glucose ◽

Fasting Glucose

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Low birth weight at term and maternal contributing factors in community based hospital Korangi, Karachi.

The Professional Medical Journal ◽

10.29309/tpmj/2020.27.02.3783 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (02) ◽

pp. 324-329

Author(s):

Saba Pario ◽

Haniyah Qamar ◽

Rozina Mustafa

Keyword(s):

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Risk Factor ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Low Birth Weight ◽

Gestational Diabetes ◽

Pregnancy Induced Hypertension ◽

Fetal Gender ◽

Induced Hypertension ◽

History Of

Low birth weight is a key determinant of infant survival, health and development. Low birth weight infants are at a greater risk of morbidity and mortality than an infant of normal birth weight and create a substantial strain on the healthcare system. Objectives: To determine the frequency of low birth weight at term and maternal contributing risk factors in women attending antenatal clinic at Creek General Hospital Korangi, Karachi. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Creek General Hospital, United Medical and Dental College Karachi. Period: From May 2017 to April 2018. Material & Methods: Those women who gave birth to babies with less than 2500gm at term, were included in the study to ascertain the frequency and risk factors of low birth weight including age, parity, booking status for antenatal care, pre-pregnancy BMI, history of tobacco intake, medical disorders arising in pregnancy like anemia, pregnancy induced hypertension and gestational diabetes mellitus, birth weight and fetal gender. The data was analyzed on SPSS software. Results: The prevalence of term low birth weight was 22%. Percentage of low birth weight babies among teenage mothers was 72.8%, among the studied mothers 67.4% were primipara, 91.5% had standard antenatal care, Pre-pregnancy BMI was found to be normal in 93% of mothers, 9 mothers (7%) had history of tobacco/ betel nut chewing habit. In this study, iron deficiency anemia was found to be most significant factor leading to LBW babies (62 %). 12% and 8% of mothers were diagnosed with Pregnancy induced Hypertension and Gestational Diabetes mellitus respectively. Regarding fetal gender, 68 were females (52.7%) and 61 (47.3%) were males. Conclusion: Low Birth Weight is an important contributing risk factor for perinatal mortality and morbidity in Pakistan. Anemia was found to be most significant risk factor leading to Low birth weight in our study.

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