Women with normal pregnancy OGTT at higher risk of diabetes, study finds
Denmark: Women with several risk factors for diabetes mellitus (DM) and a previous normal OGTT during pregnancy are at a thrice the risk for diabetes compared to the general population, reveals a recent study. The results, published as a preprint under consideration, will be published in the journal Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome, following the review.
"The results imply that women who test negative for gestational diabetes should have follow-up screening for identifying those with manifest diabetes who could benefit from the earlier intervention for preventing diabetes-related complications," Greta Dubietyte, Sygehus Sønderjylland, Aabenraa Hospital, Denmark, and colleagues wrote in their study.
The study was conducted with the objective to follow up on a cohort of women screened for GDM with normal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in pregnancy, to investigate the incidence and time of diagnosis of manifest diabetes mellitus, and to identify the risk factors for later development of diabetes.
A follow-up study was done of a cohort with normal OGTT in 1991/1992. Only five women out of the original 352 were lost to follow-up.
Key findings of the study were as follows:
- In total 64 women (18%) had manifest diabetes with a median age of 57 years after 28 years of follow-up. This amounts to three times the expected rate compared to the background population.
- The rate of manifest diabetes rises 10 - 20 years after pregnancy and after the age of 40.
- Normal fasting glucose at OGTT as well as borderline OGTT during pregnancy was associated with risk of manifest diabetes, also after adjustment for age, BMI, non-Danish origin, and smoking during pregnancy.
"Diabetes incidence is greater in women with a previous normal OGTT in pregnancy compared to the background incidence," wrote the authors. "Follow-up on women with risk factors for diabetes, even after pregnancy without GDM, may identify women with manifest diabetes earlier to prevent possible complications."
"Based on the above, it is evident that the results are useful in identifying the time where women may benefit from the effective implementation of evidence-based treatment to postpone and advert manifest DM, even though they had a normal OGTT during pregnancy," they concluded.
Reference:
This is a summary of a preprint research study, "Diabetes after pregnancy — a long-term follow-up in women with normal OGTT, and is available on ResearchSquare.com.
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1345808/v1
