Fasting Serum Adiponectin Shows No Association with Body Mass Index in Pregnant Women with or without Gestational Diabetes

Objective: To measure and compare serum adiponectin in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) in obese and non-obese subjects. Material and methods: Women at 24–28 weeks of gestation were consecutively recruited as GDM (n = 40) [age: 27.60 ± 3.93 years, mean ± SD; BMI: 27.01 (24.12–29.97), kg/m2, median (IQR)] and NGT (n = 41), [age: 26.27 ± 5.25 years, mean ± SD; BMI: 25.82 (23.42–28.93), kg/m2, median (IQR)] based on 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) under WHO 2013 criteria. Fasting venous blood samples were collected and analyzed for serum adiponectin using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. At screening for GDM, body mass index (BMI) < 23 kg/m² was labelled as non-obese, while BMI ≥ 23 kg/m² was labelled as overweight/obese, regardless of pre-gestational BMI. Results: Serum adiponectin did not differ between GDM and NGT [2.36 (1.37–3.36) vs. 2.12 (1.54–2.99), median & IQR, p = 0.901]. Even when compared between obese and non-obese subgroups, no differences were observed [GDM vs. NGT; BMI < 23 kg/m2, (2.49 vs. 2.14, median, p = 0.560) and BMI ≥ 23 kg/m2, (2.09 vs. 2.10, median, p = 0.876)]. BMI subgroups (< 23 kg/m2 vs. ≥ 23 kg/m2) within GDM and NGT also showed similar adiponectin (GDM; 2.49 vs. 2.09, median, p = 0.841 and NGT; 2.14 vs. 2.10, median, p = 0.719). No significant correlation was observed between adiponectin and maternal age, gestational age, or BMI. Conclusion: Serum adiponectin has no significant association with BMI during pregnancy, regardless of GDM.