A study on serum Leptin levels and models of Insulin resistance in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is characterized by diminished glucose tolerance that manifests during pregnancy. Leptin, a vital adipokine governing several physiological processes, including insulin sensitivity, plays a pivotal role. Insulin resistance stands as the principal factor underlying the development of GDM. This study aims to assess and compare serum leptin levels and various insulin resistance (IR) models between GDM cases and normoglycemic pregnant women. Furthermore, we seek to determine whether leptin and IR models hold predictive value for GDM.A cross-sectional study was conducted, enrolling one hundred GDM cases and one hundred normoglycemic pregnant women. Fasting blood samples were collected for the analysis of serum leptin, insulin, and C-peptide using ELISA. Appropriate statistical analyses were performed employing GraphPad InStat 3.Fasting C-peptide levels were significantly higher in GDM cases (p=0.0014). Conversely, fasting serum insulin and leptin levels exhibited no significant differences in GDM patients (p=0.6968 and p=0.213, respectively). Comparative analysis of IR models between cases and controls revealed significantly lower HOMA B cell and HOMA 1% B cell (insulin-based) values, along with significantly higher HOMA B cell and HOMA 1% B cell (C-peptide-based) values in cases (p<0.0001). In summary, our findings suggest that leptin levels were not significantly altered in GDM, while C-peptide and C-peptide-based insulin resistance models were elevated. Both leptin and various insulin resistance models did not emerge as reliable markers for predicting GDM.