The Impacts of Fish Oil and/or Probiotic Intervention on Low-Grade Inflammation in pregnancy

Low-grade inflammation has been linked with obesity and obesity related metabolic diseases. We investigated low-grade inflammation in pregnant women with overweight and obesity. Our findings revealed that fish oil and/or probiotics intervention did not lower the traditional low-grade inflammatory marker, high sensitivity C-reactive protein in the blood (Houttu et al. 2020). In the same study, we measured also blood MMP-8 and IGFBP-1, which have been related to low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance. MMP-8 or IGFBP-1 were not affected by the intervention either. However, we found that the effect of the intervention on MMP-8 and IGFBP-1 was influenced by body mass index and gestational diabetes status of the women. Moreover, IGFBP-1 and phIGFBP-1 were related to the onset of gestational diabetes; the concentration of the markers were lower in early pregnancy in women who developed gestational diabetes mellitus later in pregnancy. In conclusion, by modulating IGBFP-1, adverse metabolic outcomes could be prevented. The effect of the fish oil and/or probiotics may depend on the obesity and gestational diabetes status of the women.