An association between hyperinsulinemia and hypertension during the third trimester of pregnancy

We studied 43 women in their third trimester of pregnancy whose fetuses were at significant risk of intrauterine growth retardation. To define metabolic subtypes for intrauterine growth retardation, a 100 gm glucose load was administered after an overnight fast. Twenty-seven women were normotensive and 16 had hypertension. The glucose tolerance of the hypertensive group was essentially the same as that of the normotensive group. However, 8 of the 16 women with hypertension had marked hyperinsulinemia in response to an oral glucose load. Of the five women with hypertension who gave birth to offspring of low birth weight, three had hyperinsulinemia.