[Relationship of serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and c-reactive protein with insulin resistance during first trimester pregnancy].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationships between serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, TNF-alpha and CRP (c-reactive protein) versus insulin resistance in early pregnancy. METHODS: A total of 342 pregnant women delivering at our hospital were recruited from October 2007 to July 2008. Their clinical data were collected and analyzed. According to the 50-g 1-hour oral glucose screening test, they were divided into 3 groups: gestational diabetes, gestational impaired glucose tolerance and normal pregnancy. The serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, TNF-alpha and CRP were determined by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and multivariate correlation analysis was used to analyze their relationships with the indices of insulin resistance. RESULTS: Among them, there were gestational diabetes (n = 13) and gestational impaired glucose tolerance (n = 19). Thirty-five normal pregnant women were selected as the control group. The result of analysis of variance indicted that adiponectin, leptin and TNF-alpha had significant statistical differences among three groups. Through the multivariate correlation analysis, adiponectin had a adverse correlation with the indices of insulin resistance. Leptin, CRP, TNF-alpha and BMI (body mass index) had positive correlations with the indices of insulin resistance. CONCLUSION: Adiponectin, leptin, TNF-alpha and CRP are correlated with the indices of insulin resistance. And TNF-alpha may become an important predictor of gestational diabetes in early pregnancy.