Abstract
As an approach to the study of prediabetes, women who delivered large babies were examined with respects to their characteristics; family history of diabetes, past history of pregnancy and delivery, glucose tolerance, insulin reaction and other aspects.
1) The subjects studied were 284 mothers of large babies weighing more than 4, 000 g at birth reported in Suita City and its adjacent area (Osaka Prefecture), where total population was about 350, 000. The examinations were performed exactly one year after the birth. The subjects were tended to be more obese than the control group of a comparable age distribution. The incidence of family history of diabetes was answered in 19.8% of the subjects, this rate being very close to that of diabetic cases among diabetes families. It was also found that abortions, stillbirths and delivery of large babies in the past were frequent in this subjects.
2) The rate of diminished glucose tolerance in the subjects did not exceed largely that of the control group. However, age of mother, birth weight of the child, birth order of the child and the past history of large babies related to the rate, indicating the diabetogenic effect of these factors.
3) The insulin response to glucose was evaluated by setting an index; a ratio of area of IRI over that of glucose during glucose tolerance test (EIRI/EBS). The mothers of large babies revealed a decreasing trend of the index compared with the control group among those with normal glucose tolerance. Age of mother, birth order of the child, abortions, stillbirths and delivery of large babies in the past also related to the decrease of the index, suggesting relationship between these factors and deminished insulin reaction.
As a result, mothers who delivered large babies were found to be highly probable to be prediabetic as judged from characteristic features presented here. A long term follow-up study on this subjects should be made in the future.
