The correlation of fetal cardiac function with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and oxidative stress levels.

Background The primary objective of this study was to compare the fetal cardiac performance index (Tei index) between the fetuses of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) mothers and non-GDM mothers; and the secondary objective was to compare various other parameters of fetal cardiac function as well as maternal oxidative stress levels between the groups of GDM and non-GDM mothers. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on pregnant women at 24-28 weeks of gestation. All of the participants underwent 100 g, 3-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) as a diagnostic test for GDM and were categorized as non-GDM and GDM group. All participants had fetal echocardiography performed for cardiac function, and then maternal blood samples were collected for biomarker measurements. Results A total of 80 pregnant women, including 43 in the GDM group and 37 in the non-GDM group, were included in the study. The maternal serum 8-isoprostane (8IsoP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-10 levels were significantly higher in the GDM group than those in the non-GDM group (P: 0.028, P: 0.019 and P: 0.031, respectively). The fetal cardiac function parameters were not significantly different between the two groups. Regardless of the GDM status, the fetuses with high levels of oxidative stress (8Isop ≥1000 pg/mg protein) had a significantly higher rate of impaired shortening fraction (SF) of the left ventricle (P: 0.001). Conclusion GDM is significantly associated with an increase in the oxidative stress process, and a high level of oxidative stress was significantly associated with left ventricular (LV) function impairment. Though a correlation between GDM and fetal cardiac function impairment was not clearly demonstrated in this study, this study suggests that GDM patients with a high level of oxidative stress should be evaluated for fetal cardiac function.