Decreased maternal serum cortistatin levels in pregnancies with gestational diabetes mellitus

Objective: To investigate serum cortistatin levels in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and women with uncomplicated pregnancies.Material and methods: This case-control study consisted of 40 pregnancies with GDM and 41 healthy singleton pregnancies matched for maternal and gestational age. The maternal serum levels of cortistatin were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and compared between groups.Results: Cortistatin levels were significantly lower in GDM group (48.85 ± 20.18 versus 65.84 ± 33.98 ng/ml, p = .008). There was a statistically significant difference in cortistatin levels between different treatment modalities and control group (χ²(2) = 8.828, p = .012). Pairwise comparisons showed that diet group had significantly lower CST levels than control group (p = .012). Serum cortistatin levels were negatively correlated with serum insulin and glucose levels and HOMA-IR (r = -0.358, p = .001; r = -0.303, p = .006; r = -0.444, p < .001, respectively).Conclusion: Cortistatin levels were significantly lower in GDM pregnancies and related to serum insulin and glucose levels and HOMA-IR in pregnancy. This may help to better clarify the mechanism of GDM pathogenesis.