Strengths and limitations
One of the strengths of this study was its relatively large sample size which made the results more reliable. In addition, compare to other lipid parameters used in former studies such as HDL and LDL, ApoB/ApoA-1 is thought to be a more reliable and comprehensive parameter to reflect lipid disturbance28. However, several limitations should also be pointed out. First, pre-pregnancy weight was self-reported which may cause recall bias, although the discrepancy between self-reported weight and measured weight was relatively small29. Second, although we adjusted for several potential confounders, we cannot rule out the possibility of residual confounding by unmeasured factors, such as gestational dietary nutrition, gestational weight gain, maternal life style and socioeconomic parameters. Third, the participant of our study were all Chinese pregnant women, which may reduce the generalization of our results to other ethnic groups.