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Published on: January 7, 2018
Gestational diabetes: Is there a relationship between leg length and glucose tolerance?
Robert G Moses1, Maria T Mackay
1Diabetes Service, Illawarra Area Health Service, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. mosesr@iahs.nsw.gov.au
Objective:
To assess the relationship between leg length and glucose tolerance in pregnancy.
Research Design And Methods:
The leg length and leg-to-height percentage were prospectively determined on 161 glucose-tolerant women during pregnancy and 61 women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
Results:
Women with GDM were a mean of 2.8 cm shorter than women who were glucose tolerant, due entirely to their leg lengths being a mean of 3.2 cm shorter. With respect to the 2-h result on the glucose tolerance test (GTT), there were negative correlations for height (r = -0.161, P = 0.017), leg length (r = -0.266, P < 0.0005), and the leg-to-height percentage (r = -0.294, P < 0.0005). The correlation between the leg-to-height percentage and the 2-h result on the GTT remained significant after adjustment for age (r = -0.252, P < 0.0005) and for age and BMI (r = -0.224, P = 0.001).
Conclusions:
Women with GDM are shorter than glucose-tolerant women and have a lower leg-to-height percentage. Consideration of short stature as a risk factor for GDM is not valid without taking into account the leg-to-height percentage.
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