Individual free fatty acids have unique associations with inflammatory biomarkers, insulin resistance and insulin secretion in healthy and gestational diabetic pregnant women

Objective We investigated the relationships of maternal circulating individual free fatty acids (FFA) with insulin resistance, insulin secretion and inflammatory biomarkers during mid-pregnancy. Research design and methods The data were drawn from a prospective cohort of generally healthy pregnant women (n=1368, African-American 36%, Hispanic 48%, Caucasian 16%) in Camden, NJ. We quantitatively determined 11 FFAs, seven cytokine/adipokine, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and C-peptide levels from the fasting blood samples that were collected at 16 weeks of gestation. Multivariate analyses were performed along with separate analyses for each individual FFA. Results High HOMA-IR (p Conclusion Our results suggest that maternal individual FFAs uniquely affect insulin resistance and secretion. The effects are either direct or indirect via modulation of the inflammatory response. Modifying the composition of FFAs may help in reducing the risk of GDM.