Diabetes, Vol 36, Issue 4 413-419, Copyright © 1987 by American Diabetes Association
Glucose tolerance, insulin release, and insulin sensitivity in normal-weight women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus
S Efendic, U Hanson, B Persson, A Wajngot and R Luft
Out of 57 women with previous histories of gestational diabetes (GD), 23
were of normal weight postpartum and willing to participate in three
studies characterizing oral glucose tolerance (OGTT), insulin
responsiveness to intravenous glucose (glucose infusion test, GIT), and
insulin sensitivity (somatostatin, insulin, and glucose infusion test,
SIGIT). The experiments were performed 6-36 mo after cessation of
breast-feeding. The control group comprised 10 healthy women with normal
OGTT matched for age and weight. Among subjects with previous histories of
GD, 9 had normal, 8 borderline, and 6 decreased OGTT. As a group, women
with previous histories of GD have significantly decreased insulin response
and insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, all 14 with borderline and decreased
OGTT demonstrated a low early insulin response during GIT (5-min value
below the upper border of the lower quartile of normals), whereas insulin
sensitivity was normal in 6 and low in 8 (glucose values attained during
SIGIT were lower or higher, respectively, than the lower border of the
upper quartile of controls). The women with previous histories of GD and
normal OGTT exhibited normal (n = 4) and low (n = 5) insulin responses.
Three of the former subjects had low and the remaining 6 had normal insulin
sensitivity. In conclusion, as many as 60% of normal-weight women with
previous histories of GD had borderline or decreased OGTT 6-36 mo
postpartum. This derangement could be due to impaired early insulin
response, which in some subjects was combined with low insulin sensitivity.
Follow-up of women with previous histories of GD might enlighten the
pathogenesis of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.