Causal effect of early life adiposity on gestational diabetes mellitus and mediating roles of lipidomic biomarkers

ObjectiveThe causal relationship between early life adiposity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and the underlying mechanisms remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the independent causal association between early life adiposity and GDM and identify potential metabolic mediators and their mediating effects on this relationship.MethodsUsing genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from the publicly available database of early life adiposity (5,530 cases and 8,318 controls) and GDM (11,279 cases and 179,600 controls), a two-step, two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was conducted to estimate the causal mediation effects of lipidomic biomarkers including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride, apolipoprotein A-Ι, and apolipoprotein B on the relationship between early life adiposity and GDM.ResultsGenetically predicted childhood adiposity was positively associated with risk of GDM (OR: 1.21, 95%CI: 1.09–1.34, p = 4.58 × 10−4). This causal relationship remained after accounting for adult adiposity traits in the multivariable MR analyses. Two-step MR identified three candidate mediators that partially mediated the effect of early life adiposity on GDM, including HDL-C (5.81, 95%CI: 3.05–8.57%), apolipoprotein A-Ι (4.16, 95%CI: 1.64–6.69%), and triglyceride (2.20, 95%CI: 0.48–3.92%).ConclusionThis MR study demonstrated that the causal effect of childhood obesity on future GDM risk was independent of adult adiposity. We identified three mediators, including HDL-C, apolipoprotein A-Ι, and triglyceride, in this association pathway. Our results provide insights into the pathogenesis of GDM and suggest additional prevention and treatment targets for GDM related to early life adiposity.