Skin autofluorescence may be a biomarker associated suboptimal glycemic control in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

BackgroundAdvanced glycation end products (AGEs) can be measured non-invasively through skin autofluorescence (SAF). Studies on SAF in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remain limited. This study aims to evaluate SAF in Tunisian pregnant women with GDM and its association with the requirement for insulin therapy.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted of 242 pregnant women who visited at the Monastir-Tunisia Center for Maternity. Screening for GDM was performed using the OGTT. 200 pregnant women were included in the study with and without GDM. We measured SAF using the AGE reader Mu device and the age-adjusted SAF-z score was calculated.ResultsHigher SAF levels and SAF-z scores were observed in pregnant women with GDM compared to healthy controls (2.1 ± 0.5 AU vs 1.9 ± 0.4 AU p < 0.001, 1.02 ± 0.9 vs 0.64 ± 0.7 p = 0.002, respectively). The ROC analysis revealed that an SAF >2.3 AU was the optimal cut-off point for predicting insulin therapy requirement with a sensitivity of 90.9% and a specificity of 69.7% (p < 0.001).ConclusionSAF was increased in GDM, and can be a biomarker associated suboptimal glycemic control in pregnant women with GDM. Our findings highlight the relevance of SAF measurement and suggest SAF monitoring during pregnancy.