FhCG-beta

This study aimed to determine whether maternal serum concentrations of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (free hCGβ) during the first trimester are altered in pregnancies later diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) via an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Data from 27,660 singleton pregnancies screened for aneuploidy between 2009 and 2011 were analyzed, including 7,429 cases with an OGTT at 22–26 weeks, of which 870 were classified as GDM according to WHO criteria. Free hCGβ, PAPP-A, and nuchal translucency (NT) multiples of the median (MoM) were compared across groups. The results revealed a significant 7–9% reduction in both PAPP-A and free hCGβ MoM levels in the GDM group compared to both the non-GDM group and pregnancies without OGTT or GDM risk factors. No differences were observed in NT measurements. These findings suggest that reduced first trimester levels of PAPP-A and free hCGβ are associated with subsequent GDM diagnoses and may have potential utility in future screening algorithms for GDM, although their sensitivity as standalone markers is limited.