Metabolic syndrome in pregnancy and postpartum: prevalence and associated factors

Evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and the main associated maternal factors in women without pre-gestational conditions, in early pregnancy and in the immediate postpartum.

Two hundred pregnant women were evaluated at the 16th week of pregnancy, and 187 were reassessed postpartum. MS was diagnosed according to the criteria by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. In addition to the diagnostic criteria, anthropometric measures, blood pressure, metabolic profile, and visceral and subcutaneous fat thickness (by ultrasonography) were collected from the pregnant woman. The student's t-test was used to compare the prevalence of MS and its components in the 16th week and in the postpartum. Multiple logistic regression was performed to identify the principal factors associated with the syndrome.

The prevalence of the MS was 3.0% in early pregnancy and 9.7% postpartum (p=0.01). Following multiple logistic regression, the prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) (p=0.04) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) (p=0.02) remained associated with MS at 16 weeks, and triglyceride levels evaluated in postpartum (p<0.001) with MS in postpartum.

The frequency of the MS was high in the immediate postpartum. The factors associated were prepregnancy BMI and HDL-c at the 16th week, as well as triglyceride levels postpartum.