Plasma Lipidomics and Gestational Diabetes—A Longitudinal Study in a Multiracial Cohort

Dyslipidemia is implicated in glucose intolerance. Study of lipidomics in pregnancy may identify novel metabolites that may provide new insights to the etiology of gestational diabetes (GDM). Such studies, however, are sparse. We prospectively investigated lipidomics and GDM risk in a matched case-control study of 107 GDM and 214 non-GDM women nested in the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies. GDM diagnosis was based on Carpenter and Coustan Criteria. We measured plasma lipidome of 420 metabolites at gestational weeks (GW) 8-13, 16-22, 24-29 and 34-37 by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Associations between individual lipids and GDM were assessed using linear mixed effect models at GW 8-13 and GW 16-22. At GW 8-13, 48 metabolites were significantly related to GDM risk (FDR <0.05). Specifically, the mid-to-long carbon-chain (C) glycerolipids (34-38C diglycerides [DGs]; 48-58C triglycerides [TGs]) were positively related to GDM, while long carbon-chain cholesteryl esters (18-22C CEs) were inversely related. At GW 16-22, 87 metabolites (34-36 C DGs, 48-58C TGs, 18-22C CEs, glycerophospholipids) were significantly related to GDM. Mean levels of top-identified metabolites between cases and controls are presented (Figure). We identified novel metabolites related to GDM with relations differed by lipid structure and the timing of pregnancy. Future studies are warranted to evaluate their roles in GDM early prediction. Disclosure M.L. Rahman: None. Y. Feng: None. O. Fiehn: None. M.Y. Tsai: None. F. Tekola-Ayele: None. L. Liang: None. Y. Zhu: None. C. Zhang: None.