SIALIC ACID AS A PREDICTOR OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Inflammatory markers predict type 2 diabetes. Gestational Diabetes Mellitus(GDM) predicts type 2 diabetes. Objective: To examine the association of inflammatory markers with GDM, weinvestigated total sialic acid (TSA) in women with and without previous GDM.Design & methods:All women with GDMand a random sample of women from diabetic center of SirGanga Ram Hospital, Lahore were taken after an interview,an oral glucose tolerance test and anthropometry were performed. A total of 46 women with and 50 women withoutprevious GDM completed the protocol. Results: Mean TSA was significantly higher in women with (71.8±11.1 mg/dl)than without (67.5±9.8 mg/dl) previous GDM (P< 0.05). In a linear regression model, TSA was 4 mg/dl (P< 0.05) higherin women with previous GDM, after adjustment for BMI and fasting insulin sensitivity. In a similar model, current 2-hplasma glucose levels were associated with higher TSA levels after adjustment for waist-to-hip ratio and the log oftriglycerides. TSA was strongly correlated with individual components and aggregates (r = 0.55, P< 0.001) of themetabolic syndrome. Conclusions: Increased TSA levels are associated with previous GDM and are strongly linkedto the metabolic syndrome. These findings in young women suggest that a chronic mild systemic inflammatory responseis an early feature of the metabolic syndrome and that GDM may be a window for its investigation.