BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: To analyze whether there is an association between pre-pregnancy lipid parameters and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ART), a group especially at risk for GDM, and if so, which parameter is associated the strongest. METHODS: Data was collected at the Reproductive and Genetic Hospital CITIC-Xiangya in Changsha, China from January 2017 to December 2018. The measured lipid parameters include LDL (low-density lipoprotein), HDL (high-density lipoprotein), TC (total cholesterol), and TG (triglycerides). RESULTS: 119 (15.5%) of the 767 patients developed GDM. On average, women who developed GDM were older, had a higher BMI, LDL, TC, and TG, and lower HDL. After adjusting for confounders, LDL and HDL showed a significant association with GDM (p < 0.05), but TC and TG did not. Binary LDL/HDL and TC/HDL ratios showed the strongest association with GDM incidence (OR 1.957 [95%CI 1.258-3.044] and 1.942 [1.243-3.034] respectively). Subgroup analysis showed that an elevated LDL/HDL ratio also increased GDM risk in subgroups with a typically lower prevalence of GDM, such as young women with a low BMI and low blood pressure. Both lipid ratios (LDL/HDL and TC/HD) show strong interactions with baseline age, fasting plasma glucose, and LH. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of Chinese women undergoing ART, pre-pregnancy LDL/HDL and TC/HDL were associated with GDM the strongest from the lipid parameters and could be useful to estimate GDM risk even before ART treatments and pregnancy. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: NCT03503006 registered on the 21st of March 2018 (on clinicaltrials.gov). https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03503006?locStr=Changsha,%20Hunan,%20China&country=China&state=Hunan&city=Changsha&cond=ivf&rank=2 .

• Keywords
• Assisted reproductive technologies, Dyslipidemia, Gestational diabetes mellitus, In vitro fertilization, Ldl hdl ratio,
• MeSH
• Reproductive Techniques, Assisted * MeSH
• Cholesterol blood   MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Diabetes, Gestational * blood   epidemiology   diagnosis   MeSH
• Cholesterol, HDL * blood   MeSH
• Cholesterol, LDL blood   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Risk Factors MeSH
• Pregnancy MeSH
• Triglycerides blood   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Pregnancy MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Observational Study MeSH
• Geographicals
• China epidemiology   MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Cholesterol MeSH
• Cholesterol, HDL * MeSH
• Cholesterol, LDL MeSH
• Triglycerides MeSH

CONTEXT: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common pregnancy complication, particularly in women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART). An association of GDM with vitamin D in women conceiving naturally has been described; however, studies have yielded heterogeneous results. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between prepregnancy total and free vitamin D and GDM incidence in women undergoing ART. METHODS: Post hoc analysis of a prospective study at the Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya in Changsha, China. Total and free vitamin D were measured 1 day before embryo transfer. The patients were screened for GDM using the oral glucose tolerance test. RESULTS: A total of 1593 women were included in the study, among whom 256 (16.1%) developed GDM. According to international guidelines for total 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], 47 (2.9%) patients had sufficient (≥30 ng/mL) levels, while 696 (43.7%) were insufficient (20 to <30 ng/mL) and 850 (54.4%) were deficient (<20 ng/mL). Comparing GDM and non-GDM patients, there was no significant difference in total nor free vitamin D levels (P = .340 and .849). Similarly, analysis of GDM rates by quintiles of total and free 25(OH)D showed no significant association in one-way ANOVA (P = .831 and .799). Multivariate logistic regression, considering age, BMI, and fasting glucose, also did not show a significant influence of the 2 vitamin D forms on GDM incidence (P = .266 and .123 respectively). CONCLUSION: In this relatively vitamin D deficient/insufficient ART cohort, the degree of neither total nor free vitamin D deficiency before pregnancy was associated with the occurrence of GDM.

• Keywords
• free vitamin D, gestational diabetes, in vitro fertilization, vitamin D,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH