PREMATURITY AND MATERNAL HEALTH CONDITIONS INFLUENCE ON PLASMA GLUCOSE AND TRIGLYCERIDE LEVELS IN NEWBORNS AT SIX MONTHS OF CORRECTED AGE

In the present study we evaluated growth, glucose and lipids homeostasis in preterm (PT) infants at birth and at 6 months of corrected age (6m of CA) and correlated with maternal health conditions. This was a longitudinal prospective study conducted between May 2015 and February 2017 with PT (n=71) and full term (FT) infants(n=82) and their respective mothers in a public hospital at south of Brazil. At birth, PT-infants showed, reduced growth parameters, high levels of glucose, insulin but lower triglyceride levels when compared to FT-infants. Only glucose remained elevated in PT-infants at 6m of CA; an effect correlated significantly with higher maternal body weight gain and with high degree of prematurity. In contrast, elevated maternal insulin plasma level was correlated with smaller glycemia of PT-infants at 6 m of CA. Moreover, in association, elevated maternal body weight gain during pregnancy, greater values of plasma glucose, insulin and cholesterol and high degree of prematurity were positively correlated with high plasma triglyceride levels in PT-infants at 6 m CA. In conclusion, this study confirms that maternal body weight gain and their metabolic state, as well as, the degree of prematurity are elements that affect glycemia and trigliceridemia in PT infants at 6 m CA. Glucose and lipid homeostasis at birth and infancy can determine onset of chronic diseases in adult life. Thus, PT-infants and their mothers should be more strictly accompanied to preserve health in future.