Glucose Management during Pregnancy

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Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is characterized by glucose intolerance during pregnancy.

Pregnancy may increase urinary chromium loss, making pregnant women susceptible to chromium deficiency (Morris et al., 1995). Sundararaman et al (2012) found out that serum chromium level of women with gestational diabetes are lower than in controls.

Comparison

Chromium is an essential mineral which aids in lipid and glucose metabolism. It is a key substance for the formation of Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF) complex. Therefore, chromium helps to improves glycemic control.

According to study done by Jovanovic et al (1999), gestational diabetes women need about 4-8mcg/kg of chromium daily. Supplementation of chromium for 8 weeks in GDM women significantly lower the HbA1c level compared to control group, with reading of 5.2% vs 5.6%, respectively.

References
  1. Jovanovic L, Gutierrez M, Peterson C. 1999. Chromium supplementation for women with gestational diabetes mellitus. J Trace Elements Exp Nutr 12:91–97.
  2. Morris B, MacNeil S, Fraser R, Gray T. 1995. Increased urine chromium excretion in normal pregnancy. Clinical Chemistry 41:1544–1545.
  3. Sundararaman, P.G., Sridhar, G.R., Sujatha, V. & Anita, V. 2012. Serum chromium levels in gestational diabetes mellitus. Indian J Endocrinol Metab 16:70-73.