Increased gallbladder emptying and reduced GLP-1 response in pregnancy with and without gestational diabetes mellitus

Aim: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been associated with reduced postprandial glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) responses. As pregnancy induces changes in gallbladder motility and bile acids stimulate GLP-1 secretion, we investigated postprandial gallbladder emptying and GLP-1 responses in women with GDM.

Methods: Women with and without GDM underwent two 240-min mixed meal tests; one during third trimester of pregnancy and one 3-6 months postpartum. We evaluated ultrasonography-assessed gallbladder emptying, plasma concentrations of glucometabolic hormones including GLP-1, paracetamol absorption (proxy for gastric emptying) and circulating factors known to affect gallbladder dynamics.

Results: Fifteen women with GDM and 15 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) (baseline median age 31 (interquartile range 29;33) versus 32 (28;33) years, body mass index (BMI) 27.2 (24.7;30.7) versus 28.4 (26.2;31.0) kg/m², HbA_1c 30 (29;32) versus 30 (28;31) mmol/mol) were included. No differences in postprandial gallbladder emptying or GLP-1 responses were observed between women with and without GDM, neither during pregnancy nor postpartum. Pregnancy increased fasting gallbladder volumes by 69 (30;122)% and 103 (59;156)% and postprandial gallbladder emptying by 77 (28;236)% and 99 (37;190)% compared with postpartum in women with and without GDM, respectively. Postprandial GLP-1 responses were reduced by 60 (3;82)% and 81 (11;90)% during pregnancy compared with postpartum in women with and without GDM, respectively.

Conclusion: Pregnancy-induced changes in gallbladder motility seem to play no or a limited role in previously reported GDM-associated reduced postprandial GLP-1 responses as gallbladder emptying was greater and postprandial GLP-1 response was lower in pregnancy than postpartum regardless of GDM status.