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Leptin concentrations are elevated in newborn infants of diabetic mothers
P Tapanainen1, E Leinonen, A Ruokonen
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Oulu, FIN-90230 Oulu, Finland. paivi.tapanainen@ppshp.fi
Insights
Maternal diabetes, including type 1 and gestational, is linked to higher leptin and insulin levels in newborns. These elevated levels correlate with increased birth weight, suggesting leptin
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Neonatal Medicine
- Reproductive Biology
Background:
- Infants born to diabetic mothers often exhibit macrosomia due to hyperinsulinism.
- Circulating leptin levels have been associated with intrauterine growth patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate leptin and insulin concentrations in cord blood of infants born to mothers with type 1 diabetes (iT1DM), gestational diabetes (iGDM), and nondiabetic mothers.
- To explore the relationship between leptin, insulin, and birth weight in these groups.
Main Methods:
- Cord blood samples were collected from 29 infants of mothers with iT1DM, 70 infants of mothers with iGDM, and 105 control infants.
- Leptin and insulin concentrations were measured and compared across the three groups.
- Correlations between leptin, insulin, and birth weight parameters were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Significantly higher leptin levels were observed in infants of mothers with iT1DM (24.9 μg/l) and iGDM (14.0 μg/l) compared to controls (10.0 μg/l).
- Insulin concentrations were also significantly elevated in infants of diabetic mothers (iT1DM: 18.1 mU/l; iGDM: 6.1 mU/l) versus controls (3.6 mU/l).
- Leptin levels showed a significant positive correlation with both absolute and relative birth weights across all groups, and with insulin in iGDM and control infants.
Conclusions:
- The study confirms a strong association between leptin concentrations and birth weight in infants of diabetic mothers.
- Findings suggest that leptin may play a role in the increased adipose tissue accumulation characteristic of infants born to diabetic mothers.
Background:
Infants of diabetic mothers have been characterized by macrosomia due to hyperinsulinism. A relation has been observed between circulating levels of leptin and the intrauterine growth pattern.
Methods:
We studied the leptin and insulin concentrations in the cord blood of 29 newborn infants of mothers with type 1 diabetes (iT1DM), 70 newborn infants of mothers with gestational diabetes and 105 newborn infants of nondiabetic mothers.
Results:
There were significant differences (p < 0.001) between the 3 groups with the highest leptin levels 24.9 microg/l (range 1.7-94.1) in infants of mothers with iT1DM and the second-highest levels 14.0 microg/l (range 2.6-74.9) in infants of mothers with gestational diabetes (iGDM), whereas the control infants had the lowest leptin levels 10.0 microg/l (range 0.10-45.9). Girls had higher leptin concentrations than boys among the iT1DM and control infants. The insulin concentrations were 18.1 mU/l (range 1.9-123.3), 6.1 mU/l (range 1.1-51.4) and 3.6 mU/l (range 0.5-21.5) in the 3 groups (p < 0.001), respectively. A significant correlation was observed between leptin and insulin concentrations in iGDM and control infants (r = 0.51; p < 0.001 and r = 0.25; p < 0.05). Both absolute and relative birth weights correlated with leptin levels in all 3 groups (r = 0.60, p = 0.01 and r = 0.51, p = 0.05 in iT1DM; r = 0.51 and 0.56, p < 0.001 in iGDM and r = 0.42 and 0.59, p < 0.001 in control infants).
Conclusion:
Our results confirm the relation between leptin concentrations and birth weight. They also suggest that leptin may be involved in the increased accumulation of adipose tissue characteristic of infants of diabetic mothers.