Citation Information :
Sathish CH, Nanaiah SP, Ramaiah R, Prathap N, Prasad S. Maternal Subcutaneous Fat Thickness by Ultrasonography and Its Effect on Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes. J South Asian Feder Obs Gynae 2024; 16 (5):491-495.
Objectives: This study was done to determine the mean maternal abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) by ultrasound during 18–24 weeks of gestation and to study its association with maternal outcomes (hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, gestational age at delivery, mode of delivery) and the perinatal outcomes (birth weight, APGAR score, and intensive care admission rates).
Materials and methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted on 158 patients in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at ESIC Medical College and PGIMSR, Rajajinagar, Bengaluru, from January 2020 to June 2021. A detailed history of patients was obtained using general, systemic, and obstetric examinations and they were followed up with regular antenatal checkups. The abdominal SFT was measured by ultrasonography at 18–24 weeks and correlated with maternal and perinatal outcomes.
Results: The mean value of SFT measured at 18–24 weeks was 16.4 mm. The correlation between SFT and the risk of gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, preterm birth, cesarean section, large for gestational age, NICU admissions, and low APGAR score was found to be statistically significant with p-value < 0.05.
Conclusion: Subcutaneous fat thickness represents maternal central obesity, a more vital risk factor than general obesity in pregnancy. Hence, sonographic assessment of SFT is an excellent, noninvasive, and cost-effective method for safely predicting both maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes.
Kennedy NJ, Peek MJ, Quinton AE, et al. Maternal abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness as a predictor for adverse pregnancy outcome: A longitudinal cohort study. Br J Obstet Gynecol 2016;123(2):225–232. DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.13758.
Bourdages M, Demers ME, Dube S, et al. First-trimester abdominal adipose tissue thickness to predict gestational diabetes. J Obstet Gynecol Can 2018;40(7):883–887. DOI: 10.1016/j.jogc.2017.09.026.
Eley V, Sekar R, Chin A, et al. Increased maternal abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness and body mass index are associated with increased cesarean delivery: A prospective cohort study. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2019;98(2):196–204. DOI: 10.1111/aogs.13486.
Suresh A, Liu A, Poulton A, et al. Comparison of maternal abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness and body mass index as markers for pregnancy outcomes: A stratified cohort study. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol 2012;52(5):420–426. DOI: 10.1111/j.1479-828X.2012.01471.x.
Cunningham FG, Leveno KJ, Bloom SL et al. Obesity. Williams obstetrics. 25th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education Medical 2018. pp. 936–947.
Budak MS, Kahramanoglu I, Vitale SG, et al. Maternal abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness as a simple predictor for gestational diabetes mellitus. J Perinat Med 2019;47(6):605–610. DOI: 10.1515/jpm-2018-0431.
De Souza LR, Berger H, Retnakaran R, et al. First-trimester maternal abdominal adiposity predicts dysglycemia and gestational diabetes mellitus in midpregnancy. Diabetes Care 2016;39(1):61–64. DOI: 10.2337/dc15-2027.
D'Ambrosi F, Crovetto F, Colosi E, et al. Maternal subcutaneous and visceral adipose ultrasound thickness in women with gestational diabetes mellitus at 24–28 weeks’ gestation. Fetal Diagn Ther 2018;43(2):143–147. DOI: 10.1159/000475988.
Yang SH, Kim C, An HS, et al. Prediction of gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnant Korean women based on abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness as measured by ultrasonography. Diabetes Metab J 2017;41(6):486–491. DOI: 10.4093/dmj.2017.41.6.486.
Gur EB, Ince O, Turan GA, et al. Ultrasonography visceral fat thickness in the first trimester can predict metabolic syndrome and gestational diabetes mellitus. Endocrine 2014;47(2):478–484. DOI: 10.1007/s12020-013-0154-1.
Kosus N, Kosus A, Turhan Nilgun. Relation between abdominal subcutaneous fat tissue thickness and inflammatory markers during pregnancy. Arch Med Sci 2014;10(4):739–745. DOI: 10.5114/aoms.2014.44865.
Lindberger E, Wilkstrom AK, Bergman E, et al. Association of maternal central adiposity measured by ultrasound in early mid pregnancy with infant birth size. Sci Rep 2020:10:19702. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76741-8.
