Central Obesity Increases the Risk of Gestational Diabetes Partially Through Increasing Insulin Resistance

This study examined the associations of central obesity measures, waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC), in early pregnancy with subsequent risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and evaluated the potential mediating role of insulin resistance markers. Within the prospective Pregnancy Environment and Lifestyle Study cohort of 1,750 women, WC and hip circumference were measured at gestational weeks 10 to 13. In a nested case-control study within the cohort, 115 GDM cases and 230 controls had fasting serum insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and adiponectin measurements at gestational weeks 16 to 19. Poisson and conditional logistic regression models were used, adjusting for established risk factors for GDM, including prepregnancy overweight or obesity. For women with WHR 

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