Hepatic fat and abdominal adiposity in early pregnancy together predict impaired glucose homeostasis in mid-pregnancy

Hepatic fat and abdominal adiposity individually reflect insulin resistance, but their combined effect on glucose homeostasis in mid-pregnancy is unknown. A cohort of 476 pregnant women prospectively underwent sonographic assessment of hepatic fat and visceral (VAT) and total (TAT) adipose tissue at 11–14 weeks' gestation. Logistic regression was used to assess the relation between the presence of maternal hepatic fat and/or the upper quartile (Q) of either VAT or TAT and the odds of developing the composite outcome of impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or gestational diabetes mellitus at 24–28 weeks' gestation, based on a 75 g OGTT. Upon adjusting for maternal age, ethnicity, family history of DM and body mass index (BMI), the co-presence of hepatic fat and quartile 4 (Q4) of VAT (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 6.5, 95% CI: 2.3–18.5) or hepatic fat and Q4 of TAT (aOR 7.8 95% CI 2.8–21.7) were each associated with the composite outcome, relative to women with neither sonographic feature. First-trimester sonographic evidence of maternal hepatic fat and abdominal adiposity may independently predict the development of impaired glucose homeostasis and GDM in mid-pregnancy.