Usman Khurshid, Ibrahim Us.
Sialic acid as a predictor of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Professional Med J Jan ;15(2):273-80.

Inflammatory markers predict type 2 diabetes. Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) predicts type 2 diabetes. Objective: To examine the association of inflammatory markers with GDM, we investigated total sialic acid (TSA) in women with and without previous GDM. Design & methods: All women with GDM and a random sample of women from diabetic center of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore were taken after an interview, an oral glucose tolerance test and anthropometry were performed. A total of 46 women with and 50 women without previous GDM completed the protocol. Results: Mean TSA was significantly higher in women with (71.8±11.1 mg/dI) than without (67.5±9.8 mg/dl) previous GDM (P< 0.05). In a linear regression model, TSA was 4 mg/dl (P< 0.05) higher in women with previous GDM, after adjustment for BMI and fasting insulin sensitivity. In a similar model, current 2-h plasma glucose levels were associated with higher TSA levels after adjustment for waist-to-hip ratio and the log of triglycerides. TSA was strongly correlated with individual components and aggregates (r = 0.55, P< 0.001) of the metabolic syndrome. Conclusions: Increased TSA levels are associated with previous GDM and are strongly linked to the metabolic syndrome. These findings in young women suggest that a chronic mild systemic inflammatory response is an early feature of the metabolic syndrome and that GDM may be a window for its investigation. Abbreviations: GDM, gestational diabetes mellitus, OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test, TSA, total sialic acid, WHO, World Health Organization.

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