Oxidative stress and DNA damage in newborns born to mothers with hyperglycemia – a prospective cohort study

AbstractBackground: Hyperglycemic mothers have increased oxidative stress during pregnancy, which can adversely affect the outcome in their neonates.Objectives: To measure the oxidative stress and DNA damage in newborns born to mothers with hyperglycemia and correlate their immediate outcome with the amount of oxidative stress and DNA damage.Methods: This prospective cohort study conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital, South India included three groups – newborns born to pregestational diabetic mothers, gestational diabetic mothers, and euglycemic mothers with 24 newborns in each. Oxidative stress parameters – malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and DNA damage (comet assay) were assessed in umbilical cord blood. Association between these parameters and immediate neonatal outcome among three groups were studied.Results: Newborns born to diabetic mothers had more MDA levels and DNA damage compared to euglycemic mothers. There was a positive correlation between comet parameters a...