Kowalcze Karolina, Burgio Sofia, Ott Johannes, Gullo Giuseppe, Zaami Simona, Krysiak Robert
Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Academy of Silesia, Rolna 43, 40-555 Katowice, Poland.
Department of Pediatrics in Bytom, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, Stefana Batorego 15, 41-902 Bytom, Poland.
Nutrients. 2024 Nov 29;16(23):4145. doi: 10.3390/nu16234145.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Minipuberty is thought to play an important role in the sexual maturation of infants. Maternal disorders during pregnancy were found to have an impact on the activity of the reproductive axis in the first year of life. This prospective, matched, cohort study was aimed at investigating whether the course of minipuberty in boys is affected by maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
The study population consisted of three matched groups of boys: infants born to women with poorly controlled GDM, sons of women with adequately controlled GDM, and infants of healthy women with normal carbohydrate tolerance during pregnancy (control group). Salivary levels of testosterone, androstenedione, DHEA-S and estradiol, and urinary concentrations of FSH and LH were repeatedly measured over the first 12 months of life. Hormone levels were correlated with the size of genital organs (testicular volume and penile length), which were measured at each visit.
Compared with the remaining groups, the male offspring of women with poorly controlled GDM were characterized by higher concentrations of both gonadotropins, higher salivary testosterone levels, lower salivary DHEA-S concentrations, and longer periods of detection for LH and testosterone. Levels of gonadotropin, testosterone and DHEA-S in sons of mothers with poorly controlled GDM correlated with mean levels of glycated hemoglobin during pregnancy. Moreover, the infant boys assigned to this group were characterized by larger sizes of the testes and penis. Over the entire study period, there were no differences in hormone levels, testicular volume and penile length between sons of adequately treated women with GDM and sons of healthy women.
The obtained results indicate that GDM, if poorly controlled, may affect the activity of the reproductive axis and postnatal growth of male genital organs in the offspring.
背景/目的：小青春期被认为在婴儿性成熟过程中起重要作用。研究发现孕期母亲的疾病会影响婴儿出生后第一年生殖轴的活性。这项前瞻性、匹配队列研究旨在调查母亲妊娠期糖尿病（GDM）是否会影响男孩小青春期的进程。
研究人群由三组匹配的男孩组成：母亲患有控制不佳的GDM的婴儿、母亲患有控制良好的GDM的儿子，以及母亲孕期糖耐量正常的健康女性的婴儿（对照组）。在出生后的前12个月内，多次测量唾液中的睾酮、雄烯二酮、硫酸脱氢表雄酮（DHEA-S）和雌二醇水平，以及尿液中的促卵泡生成素（FSH）和促黄体生成素（LH）浓度。激素水平与每次就诊时测量的生殖器官大小（睾丸体积和阴茎长度）相关。
与其他组相比，母亲患有控制不佳的GDM的男性后代的特征是两种促性腺激素浓度较高、唾液睾酮水平较高、唾液DHEA-S浓度较低，以及LH和睾酮的检测期较长。母亲患有控制不佳的GDM的儿子的促性腺激素、睾酮和DHEA-S水平与孕期糖化血红蛋白的平均水平相关。此外，归入该组的男婴的睾丸和阴茎较大。在整个研究期间，接受充分治疗的GDM女性的儿子与健康女性的儿子在激素水平、睾丸体积和阴茎长度方面没有差异。
所得结果表明，GDM若控制不佳，可能会影响后代生殖轴的活性和男性生殖器官的出生后生长。
