Urotensin II Levels is Associated with Insulin Resistance in Patients with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus is glucose intolerance of varying degrees with onset or first detection during pregnancy, it can cause long and short-term morbidities in both the mother and the child, such as shoulder dystocia, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure. The most powerful endogenous vasoconstrictor peptide, urotensin II, and its receptor are involved in the etiology of gestational diabetes mellitus. The considerable decline in insulin sensitivity that occurs late in pregnancy reveals the lower insulin sensitivity that occurs before pregnancy.

Aim: The aim of the study is to see if there is a link between Urotensin II levels and insulin resistance in pregnant women with gestational diabetes.

Method: This is a case-control study, conducted in the obstetrics and gynecology department at Baghdad Teaching Hospital from the first of January 2019 to the end of December 2019. A sample of 80 pregnant women participated in the study fulfilling inclusion criteria. 40 of them were diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus by (2 hours 75 gm. Oral glucose tolerance test) and 40 women as a control group. The analysis was done by using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) program, version 23 for qualitative variables.

Results: The mean age of the gestational diabetes mellitus group was 29.8±6.9 years and control was 29.7±6.6 years with no significant differences. The study showed a highly significant increase in Insulin, fasting blood glucose, and Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), of the GDM group than that in the group without disease. A significant difference was found regarding high - sensitivity C-reactive protein hs-CRP (p=0.004). The level of Urotensin II in subjects with gestational diabetes was (109±33.22) highly was higher than that in healthy subjects (78±22.6). There is a positive correlation between circulating Urotensin II levels with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. While a negative correlation was found with fasting blood glucose.

Conclusion: The level of UII was found to be raised in gestational diabetes pregnant women. We also discovered that circulating levels of UII were greater in women with GDM than in controls. Insulin resistance was observed to be greater in pregnant women with GDM in comparison with controls.