Fetal lung maturation. Comparison of biochemical indices in gestational diabetic and nondiabetic pregnancies.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To compare the biochemical maturation of the components of the lung profile according to gestational age between reliably dated gestational diabetic and nondiabetic pregnancies. STUDY DESIGN Lung maturation was compared in reliably dated pregnancies in 501 gestational diabetic women and 561 nondiabetic women. Lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio (L/S) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) were evaluated by analysis of variance according to the presence or absence of diabetes and weeks of gestational age. The effect of gestational diabetes on fetal lung maturation was determined by analysis of variance. RESULTS The gestational diabetic group had no clinical or statistical differences in L/S ratios as compared to the nondiabetic patients at any gestational age. There were no differences in mean percent PG between the diabetic and nondiabetic groups at any gestational age. By 37 completed weeks, 86% of the L/S ratios and 78% of the PG values were mature in the diabetic group as compared to 80% of the L/S ratios and 78% of the PG values in the control group (P = .33 and .43, respectively). CONCLUSION In reliably dated gestational diabetic pregnancies, biochemical maturation of the fetal lung strongly correlates with gestational age and does not appear to be significantly delayed when compared to a nondiabetic control group.