This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The overall objectives of this proposal are to identify risk factors predisposing to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)., and to evaluate whether these risk factors can predict the development of GDM. We hypothesize that the imbalance between fetal or adolescent development and later environment (e.g. metabolic stress, physiological stress) confers an increased risk of GDM. This risk varies according to the genetic endowment and the degree of imbalance. Our overall goal is to generate a large epidemiological data base of potential risk factors associated with the development of GDM. In this protocol we first focus on the following specific aims: 1) to determine whether growth during fetal and adolescent periods (specifically birth weight, growth curves, and age at menarche) influences susceptibility to GDM; and at a later time will address 2) whether candidate genes influence susceptibility to GDM in conjunction with the developmental factors under study. Through these aims, we hope to determine how developmental and genetic factors influence pregnancy and fetal outcomes. The overall significance of studying gestational diabetes lies in the high predisposition of these women to develop Type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, the pathophysiology of GDM resembles that of Type 2 diabetes compressed over the short period of pregnancy.
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