TUESDAY, April 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Women who do not lose weight between three and 12 months after pregnancy have an adverse cardiometabolic profile, according to a study published online March 25 in Diabetes Care.
Simone Kew, from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and colleagues assessed the cardiometabolic impact of patterns of postpartum weight change in the first year after pregnancy in a cohort of 305 women. Participants were stratified into groups according to their weight changes between prepregnancy and three months postpartum (loss or gain) and between three and 12 months postpartum (loss or gain): loss/loss, gain/loss, loss/gain, gain/gain.
The researchers identified modest differences between the four groups at three months in mean adjusted low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P = 0.01) and apolipoprotein-B (apoB; P = 0.02). However, there were no differences in adjusted blood pressure, fasting and two-hour glucose, high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), adiponectin, and C-reactive protein at three months. Clear gradients emerged by 12 months postpartum, with progressive increases in the mean adjusted diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.02), HOMA-IR (P = 0.0003), LDL (P = 0.001), and apoB (P < 0.0001) from loss/loss to gain/loss to loss/gain to gain/gain. A significant stepwise decrease was seen at 12 months in the mean adjusted adiponectin from loss/loss to gain/loss to loss/gain to gain/gain (P = 0.003).
"An adverse cardiometabolic profile emerges as early as one year postpartum in women who do not lose weight between three and 12 months after delivery," the authors write.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
