Circulating Linoleic Acid is Associated with Improved Glucose Tolerance in Women after Gestational Diabetes

Journal article, 2018

Abstract: Women with previously diagnosed gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at increased

risk of type-2-diabetes mellitus (T2D).We aimed to establish links between glucose tolerance (GT)

and serum fatty acid (FA) profile in the transition from GDM to T2D. Six years after GDM, 221 women

were grouped as having normal GT (NGT), impaired GT (IGT), or T2D based on oral GT test

results. Fasting serum FAs were profiled, anthropometric measures taken, and dietary intake

determined. Linoleic acid (LA) was significantly higher in NGT women (p < 0.001) compared with

IGT and T2D, and emerged as a strong predictor of low glucose and insulin levels, independently

of BMI. Self-reported vegetable oil consumption correlated with LA serum levels and glucose

levels. Delta-6-, delta-9-, and stearoyl-CoA-desaturase activities were associated with decreased GT,

and delta-5-desaturase activities with increased GT. In a subgroup of women at high risk of diabetes,

low LA and high palmitic acid levels were seen in those that developed T2D, with no differences in

other FAs or metabolic measurements. Results suggest that proportions of LA and palmitic acid are

of particular interest in the transition from GDM to T2D. Interconversions between individual FAs

regulated by desaturases appear to be relevant to glucose metabolism