Glycated Hemoglobin and Lipid Profile Association Among Pregnant Women in Saudi Arabian Population

Objectives: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is the most commonly used glycemic index among diabetic patients. The present study sought to investigate the relationship between HbA1c and lipid parameters among healthy pregnancies and gestational diabetic cases. Materials and Methods: Seventy-five Saudi pregnant women within the age group of 19 to 43 years were selected for this cross-sectional study. The participants were categorized into with and without gestational diabetes (GDM), all of whom were non-smokers; in addition, they neither had a previous history of chronic illnesses nor were they on any medications which could alter lipid profile and HbA1c concentrations. Totally, 75 g of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was utilized to identify 25 women with GDM. All biochemical tests including HbA1c, fasting blood sugar (FBG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-cholesterol), triglycerides (TG), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL-cholesterol) were performed by a biochemical auto-analyzer. The collected data were statistically analyzed using a paired student’s t test. The P values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant on all the analyses related to healthy pregnancies and those associated with GDM. Results: The HbA1c and FBG values demonstrated significant correlation with GDM (P < 0.001 each). However, TC, LDL-cholesterol, and TG failed to indicate any significant difference between the 2 groups. Conversely, HDL-cholesterol and the ratio of TG and HDL-cholesterol revealed remarkable differences between GDM and healthy participants (P < 0.05 each). Conclusions: In general, the blood levels of glucose, HbA1c, TG, and HDL-cholesterol are of paramount significance in GDM. Predictably, HbA1c can be employed as one of the markers in evaluating the risk factors in developing dyslipidemia among pregnant women.