ABSTRACT
Introduction: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is thedevelopment of carbohydrate intolerance of variable severitywith onset or first recognition during pregnancy. Many studieshad suggested that an elevated serum ferritin level in maternalblood in early as well as mid-pregnancy is an independent riskfactor for development of GDM. In the present study we aimto find the association of serum ferritin levels with serum ironand Hb% in the GDM patients at the time of delivery and alsocorrelate it with cord blood Hb% and iron levels of the newborn.Material and Methods: The study group was composed of50 diagnosed cases of GDM and the control group comprisedof age matched 50 cases of normal pregnancy. Maternal bloodwas used to measure mother’s hemoglobin, iron levels, serumferritin and hsCRP. Cord blood sample was used to estimatehemoglobin and iron levels of the newborns.Results: Our study shows that in the GDM cases the levelof serum ferritin was significantly higher (p <0.001) than inthe non GDM controls at the time of delivery. Cord bloodhemoglobin is negatively correlated with maternal serumferritin levels in GDM.Conclusion: Elevated serum ferritin level in GDM is a markerof inflammation due to increased ROS production caused byiron overload. This oxidative stress might affect the placentaliron transfer to the fetus and fetal Hb synthesis.