increased serum oxidized low-density lipoprotein levels in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus

background: elevated serum levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxldl) have been found in type 2 and in poorly controlled diabetic patients. gestational diabetes mellitus (gdm) has common features with type 2 diabetes. objective: the aim of our study was to evaluate the serum levels of oxldl in women with gdm compared to normal pregnant women. materials and methods: in this cross-sectional study, ninety-two subjects were randomly allocated to either gdm (n=46) or control (n=46) groups matched for age, body mass index and parity from march 2013 to march 2014. gdm was diagnosed according to the american diabetes association criteria at 24-26 weeks of gestation. oxldl was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. t-test and pearson correlation coefficients were applied for analyzing the data by using spss version 17. results: compared to the controls, significantly higher oxldl levels were found in the gdm group (17.16 ± 3.71 u/l vs. 8.77 ± 1.84 u/l, respectively, p < 0.001). no significant correlations were found between oxldl and age and bmi of the patients in the groups. conclusion: our study found significant increase of oxldl in gdm emphasizing the role of short-term hyperglycemia in the formation of oxldl during gdm. the importance of aptly diagnosis of gdm in maternal health may also be concluded.