Changes in insulin resistance throughout pregnancy: perfect timing of mother's nature trick

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Roje, Damir^a | Vucinovic, Zoran^b

Affiliations: [a] University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Split University Hospital Center, Spinciceva 1, 21000 Split, Croatia. e-mail: damir@kbsplit.hr | [b] University Department of Internal Medicine, Split University Hospital Center, Split, Croatia

Abstract: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common pregnancy disorder. It is the result of inadequate insulin resistance regulation, a biological phenomenon usually accepted as a fact of unknown purpose. The regulation of insulin resistance, changes in the dynamics of quantitative and qualitative parameters of fetal growth, the onset of active fetal insulin secretion and clinical manifestation of GDM are too harmonized throughout pregnancy to be accidental. It is hypothesized that the origin of GDM, at least partially, might be explained by dissonance between the rapid lifestyle changes in the last decades/centuries and the Mother Nature inability to reprogram the physiologic processes, acquired long ago within such a ‘short time’.

Keywords: Gestational diabetes mellitus, Insulin resistance, Human placental lactogen

DOI: 10.3233/s12349-010-0046-3

Journal: Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 153-154, 2011