Association Between Omentin-1 and Indices of Glucose Metabolism in Early Pregnancy: a Pilot Study

Abstract Purpose: Omentin-1 plays an important role in regulating insulin sensitivity outside pregnancy. We aimed to evaluate whether circulating maternal omentin-1 concentrations are associated with fasting serum glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR and maternal obesity as measured by body mass index (BMI) and subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat thickness measurements in normoglycemic pregnant participants.Methods: Omentin-1 was measured in a sub-cohort of 50 participants in the Omega study. We examined the cross-sectional association between omentin-1 and fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, BMI and subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat thickness. We performed a subgroup analysis by BMI category.Results: Omentin-1 was negatively correlated with HOMA-IR and insulin and inversely associated with serum glucose concentration in the fully adjusted model ( −47%; slope per tertile increase in concentration −0.19; P-trend 0.01). This association was significant in non-overweight/obese (<25 kg/m2) but not among overweight/obese (≥25 kg/ m2) participants. The association with serum insulin in the fully adjusted model was not significant. Conclusion: Circulating omentin-1 concentrations are inversely associated with serum glucose concentrations. Although the significance of these findings remains to be elucidated, it may indicate a mechanism for the development of insulin resistance and gestational diabetes. Follow-up studies with larger sample sizes are warranted.