Carotid Intimal-Medial Thickness Is Not Increased in Women with Previous Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Measuring the carotid artery intimal-medial thickness (CIMT) is a non-invasive technique used to evaluate early atherosclerosis and to predict future cardiovascular diseases. We examined the association between CIMT and cardiovascular risk factors in young Korean women with previous GDM. METHODS: One hundred one women with previous GDM and 19 women who had normal pregnancies (NP) were recruited between 1999 and 2002. At one year postpartum, CIMT was measured using high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography, and oral glucose tolerance tests were performed. Fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), insulin levels and lipid profiles were also measured. CIMTs in the GDM and NP groups were compared, and the associations between CIMT and cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed in the GDM group. RESULTS: CIMT results of the GDM group were not significantly different from those of the NP group (GDM, 0.435±0.054 mm; NP, 0.460±0.046 mm; P=0.069). In the GDM group, a higher HbA1c was associated with an increase in CIMT after age adjustment (P=0.011). CIMT results in the group with HbA1c >6.0% were higher than those of the normal HbA1c (HbA1c ≤6.0%) (P=0.010). Nine of the patients who are type 2 diabetes mellitus converters within one year postpartum but showed no significant difference in CIMT results compared to NP group. CONCLUSION: Higher HbA1c is associated with an increase in CIMT in women with previous GDM. However, CIMT at one year postpartum was not increased in these women compared to that in NP women.