Maternal OGTT Glucose Levels at 26–30 Gestational Weeks with Offspring Growth and Development in Early Infancy

Aims . We aim to evaluate the association of maternal gestational oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) glucose concentrations with anthropometry in the offspring from birth to 12 months in Tianjin, China. Methods . A total of 27,157 pregnant women underwent OGTT during 26–30 weeks gestation, and their children had body weight/length measured from birth to 12 months old. Results . Maternal OGTT glucose concentrations at 26–30 gestational weeks were positively associated with Z-scores for birth length-for-gestational age and birth weight-for-length. Compared with infants born to mothers with normal glucose tolerance, infants born to mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (impaired glucose tolerance/new diabetes) had higher mean values of Z-scores for birth length-for-gestational age (0.07/0.23; normal group −0.08) and birth weight-for-length (0.27/0.57; normal group −0.001), smaller changes in mean values of Z-scores for length-for-age (0.75/0.62; normal group 0.94) and weight-for-length (0.18/−0.17; normal group 0.37) from birth to month 3, and bigger changes in mean values in Z-scores for weight-for-length (0.07/0.12; normal group 0.02) from month 9 to 12. Conclusions . Abnormal maternal glucose tolerance during pregnancy was associated with higher birth weight and birth length, less weight and length gain in the first 3 months of life, and more weight gain in the months 9–12 of life.