Skin Autofluorescence and Perinatal Outcomes in Pregnant Women with a Positive Glucose Challenge Test: A Prospective Study with Exploratory Analyses of Oxidative Stress and CGM Metrics.

Background/

Objectives

Skin autofluorescence (SAF), a marker of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), reflects cumulative hyperglycemia and may predict vascular complications in diabetes. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) also provides detailed glycemic profiles, but their prognostic values in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are unclear. The primary aim was to evaluate whether SAF predicts adverse maternal or neonatal outcomes, whereas secondary exploratory analyses assessed oxidative stress markers and CGM-derived metrics.

Methods

We prospectively enrolled 115 Japanese pregnant women with plasma glucose ≥ 140 mg/dL at 60 min after 50-g GCT. At around 29 weeks' gestation, SAF and diacron-reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) were measured, and a subset underwent 14-day CGM. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were obtained from medical records. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed.

Results

In the primary analysis of the overall cohort, SAF did not predict adverse outcomes. In the CGM subgroup, mean glucose level (MGL) was significantly higher in women with maternal complications. Multivariate analysis identified MGL as the only independent predictor of maternal adverse events (adjusted OR 10.45 per 10 mg/dL, 95% CI 1.93-56.5; AUC 0.818; cutoff 86.8 mg/dL). No marker predicted neonatal outcomes.

Conclusions

The pre-specified primary endpoint was negative (SAF was not predictive), and oxidative stress markers were also not predictive, whereas CGM-derived MGL independently predicted maternal adverse outcomes, underscoring the utility of CGM for risk stratification in pregnant women with abnormal GCT results.