Predictive Value of Plasma Zonulin Levels during Early Gestational Weeks in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the impact and predictive utility of serum zonulin levels measured between 11-14 weeks of gestation and 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) testing between 24-28 weeks of gestation in predicting patients diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: The study included 209 pregnant women at 11-14 weeks of gestation. Among the pregnant women who presented to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Outpatient Department of İstanbul Medipol Mega Hospital, those who could not be reached due to the covid pandemic (69), aborted (4), diagnosed with chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus (3), and those who withdrew from the study (4) were excluded from the study. The study group included 48 pregnant women diagnosed with GDM at 24-28 weeks of gestation. On the other hand, the control group was formed by randomly selecting 40 pregnant women from 81 pregnant women who were not diagnosed with GDM due to the lack of a kit using a computer-based program. GDM was diagnosed using an OGTT performed between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation according to the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups criteria. Plasma zonulin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: When zonulin (ng/mL) and body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) values were compared between the study and control groups, a significant correlation was found between zonulin (35.77±8.79 (ng/mL), 29.76±6.96 (ng/mL), p=0.01) and BMI (kg/m2) (26.02±2.39, 24.78±2.7 (kg/m2), p=0.032). In addition, a correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between plasma zonulin level and first-hour OGTT. Conclusion: The findings of our research indicate that zonulin has the potential to function as a non-invasive biomarker of GDM development. More extensive research is required on this topic.