Outcomes of pregnant women with overt diabetes comparable to those with pregestational diabetes

Major highlights of the study:

• Of the 618 women, 67% had pregestational diabetes and 33% had overt diabetes.
• The baseline maternal characteristics were related, with the exception of a slight, non-clinically significant difference in maternal age (33± 5.7 years in women with pregestational diabetes vs. 32± 6.0 years in women with overt diabetes, p = 0.004) and nearly twice as many women with overt diabetes reporting smoking (12.3% vs. 6.5%, p = 0.024) as those with pregestational diabetes.
• Considering pregnancy outcomes, there were no significant differences between the groups, however there was a tendency toward more neonatal critical care admissions in the pregestational diabetes group (45.2% vs. 36.1%, p = 0.051).

"Given that these women have a similar risk of unfavorable pregnancy outcomes to women with known diabetes, we should encourage steps for early detection of these women before conception," Angela Jacob Reichelt and team concluded.

Additionally, more needs to be done to raise awareness among the primary care health team about the advantages of preconception care among women of reproductive age, particularly when there is obesity or hyperglycemia.

REFERENCE

Oppermann, M.L., Campos, M.A., Hirakata, V.N. et al. Overt diabetes imposes a comparable burden on outcomes as pregestational diabetes: a cohort study. Diabetol Metab Syndr 14, 177 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13098-022-00939-1