Body mass, plasma leptin, glucose, insulin and C-peptide in offspring of diabetic and non-diabetic mothers

Second Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI), plasma leptin, glucose, insulin and C-peptide levels in the offspring of diabetic mothers (DM) and non-diabetic healthy mothers (HM). DESIGN: Seventy-two offspring (37 girls and 35 boys, age 4-20 years) of DM were investigated in a prospective study. Those 14-16 years old (Tanner stage II-IV) were compared with age-matched offspring of HM (33 girls and 33 boys). RESULTS: BMI strongly correlated with plasma leptin concentration in the offspring of both DM and HM children. There were higher BMI and plasma leptin and glucose levels in DM than in HM children. There was no difference in plasma insulin or C-peptide levels between HM and age-matched DM children. There was a highly significant positive correlation between plasma leptin and C-peptide in boys of DM. CONCLUSIONS: The higher plasma leptin found in the offspring of DM reflects their higher BMI. A moderately high but still normal glycemia might be a preclinical sign of insulin resistance or other disturbance of glucoregulation.