Maternal AA/EPA Ratio and Triglycerides as Potential Biomarkers of Patients at Major Risk for Pharmacological Therapy in Gestational Diabetes

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GD) is characterized by glycemic and lipid metabolism alterations in an environment of low-grade inflammation. Our trial aimed to assess the effect of nutraceutical supplements (omega-3 fatty acids, anthocyanins, and alpha-cyclodextrins) in GD patients and evaluate the role of anthropometric, metabolic, and inflammatory parameters as biomarkers to identify subjects who require pharmacological hypoglycemic treatment during gestation. Pregnant women with GD at 24–28 weeks of gestation were enrolled in a double-blind trial and randomized to receive either nutraceutical supplements or a placebo for 12 weeks. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in blood and urine measurements of metabolic, inflammatory, and antioxidant parameters. In the whole cohort, pre-pregnancy BMI and anthropometric measurements were significantly different in patients who required pharmacological intervention. These patients showed higher triglycerides, CRP, and insulin levels and gave birth to newborns with significantly higher weights. Subjects with a greater AA/EPA ratio had higher PAF levels and gave birth four days earlier. In conclusion, one-to-one nutritional coaching and poor compliance with nutraceutical supplementation might have outweighed the impact of this intervention. However, triglyceride concentration and the AA/EPA ratio seems to be a biomarker for higher inflammatory levels and GD candidates for pharmacological treatment. An adequate assumption of omega-3 in women with GD, either by a controlled diet or by nutraceutical supplementation, reduces the need for pharmacological therapy.