Finally, the team compared the serum metabolic profiles of two groups– pregnant women who developed prediabetes and pregnant women who had fasting glucose that remained at regular levels for two years following childbirth.
“We discovered that the metabolic profile in early pregnancy together with clinical variables– such as age and pre-pregnancy body mass index– predicted prediabetes at postpartum,” explained Ella Muhli, a doctoral researcher at the University of Turku.
“Higher concentrations of small HDL particles in blood circulation during early pregnancy were associated with higher fasting glucose and insulin resistance at two years postpartum,” Muhli continued.
“Based on our findings, women at increase risk for type 2 diabetes could possibly be identified in early pregnancy based on their serum metabolic profiles.”
But, it is important to note that the same associations were not found during late pregnancy.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Metabolomics, visit the link here.
If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe