Association of Maternal Lipid Profile, Nutritional Status, and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Pregnant Women Attending General Hospital, Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria

Gestational Diabetes is one of the most prevalent metabolic disorder during pregnancy that affects about 25% of pregnancies in some countries and associated with changes in lipid profile of pregnant women. This study analyzes the changes in lipid profile in patients with GDM. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was used to determine the existence of GDM among the study participants. Serum iron, zinc, calcium, albumin and lipid profile markers including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were determined. The study revealed elevated levels of TC (80.0% high TC as against 2.2% with normal TC), TG (41.4% high TG as against 2.3% with normal TG), HDL (55.6% high HDL as against 7.1% with normal HDL), and LDL (91.7% high LDL as against 4.2% with normal LDL) in patients with GDM. The participants demonstrated variations in key health indicators, with mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) (69.6%) and albumin (71.7%) within the normal range. The calcium (2.22 mmol/l) level slightly exceeded the normal range. However, iron (117.76mg/dl) and zinc (77.00 mg/dl) levels remained within normal levels. The study underscored relationships between lipid profile, zinc, albumin and GDM status (p<0.05). Conclusively, pregnancies affected by GDM are characterized by dyslipidaemia, thus advanced lipid testing may indicate disturbed lipid homeostasis in GDM.