Pregnancy outcomes among multi-ethnic women with different degrees of hyperglycaemia during pregnancy in an urban New Zealand population and their association with postnatal HbA1c uptake

Positive association between circulating Caveolin-1 and microalbuminuria in overt diabetes mellitus in pregnancy

AIMS

Mounting evidence has shown that caveolin-1 plays a pathological role in the progression of albuminuria. Our study aimed to provide clinical evidence showing whether circulating caveolin-1 levels were associated with microalbuminuria (MAU) in women with overt diabetes mellitus in pregnancy (ODMIP).

METHODS

A total of 150 pregnant women were enrolled in different groups, including 40 women with ODMIP and MAU (ODMIP + MAU), 40 women with ODMIP, and 70 women without ODMIP (Non-ODMIP). Plasma caveolin-1 levels were determined by ELISA. The presence of caveolin-1 in the human umbilical vein vascular wall was evaluated by immunohistochemical and western blot analysis, respectively. Albumin transcytosis across endothelial cells was measured using an established nonradioactive in vitro approach.

RESULTS

Significantly increased levels of plasma caveolin-1 were detected in ODMIP + MAU women. The Pearson's correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between plasma caveolin-1 levels and Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c %) as well as with MAU in the ODMIP + MAU group. Simultaneously, experimental knockdown or overexpression of caveolin-1 significantly decreased or increased the level of albumin transcytosis across both human and mouse glomerular endothelial cells (GECs), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data showed a positive association between plasma caveolin-1 levels and microalbuminuria in ODMIP + MAU.

A Brazilian cohort of pregnant women with overt diabetes: analyses of risk factors using a machine learning technique

Objective

Pregnancy complicated by type 2 diabetes is rising, while data on type 2 diabetes first diagnosed in pregnancy (overt diabetes) are scarce. We aimed to describe the frequency and characteristics of pregnant women with overt diabetes, compare them to those with known pregestational diabetes, and evaluate the potential predictors for the diagnosis of overt diabetes.

Subjects and methods

A retrospective cohort study including all pregnant women with type 2 diabetes evaluated in two public hospitals in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from May 20, 2005, to June 30, 2021. Classic and obstetric factors associated with type 2 diabetes risk were compared between the two groups, using machine learning techniques and multivariable analysis with Poisson regression.

Results

Overt diabetes occurred in 33% (95% confidence interval: 29%-37%) of 646 women. Characteristics of women with known or unknown type 2 diabetes were similar; excessive weight was the most common risk factor, affecting ~90% of women. Age >30 years and positive family history of diabetes were inversely related to a diagnosis of overt diabetes, while previous delivery of a macrosomic baby behaved as a risk factor in younger multiparous women; previous gestational diabetes and chronic hypertension were not relevant risk factors.

Conclusion

Characteristics of women with overt diabetes are similar to those of women with pregestational diabetes. Classic risk factors for diabetes not included in current questionnaires can help identify women at risk of type 2 diabetes before they become pregnant.

Overt diabetes imposes a comparable burden on outcomes as pregestational diabetes: a cohort study

BACKGROUND

Women with diabetes first diagnosed during pregnancy (overt diabetes) may be at the same risk level of adverse outcomes as those with known pregestational diabetes. We compared pregnancy outcomes between these groups.

METHODS

We evaluated pregnant women with type 2 diabetes, pregestational or overt diabetes, attending high risk antenatal care in two public hospitals in Southern Brazil, from May 20, 2005 to June 30, 2021. Outcomes were retrieved from electronic medical records. Risk of adverse outcomes, expressed as relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), were calculated using Poisson regression with robust estimates.

RESULTS

Of 618 women, 33% were labelled as having overt diabetes and 67%, pregestational diabetes. Baseline maternal characteristics were similar: there was a slight, non-clinically relevant, 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 women with overt diabetes reported smoking almost twice compared to those with pregestational diabetes (12.3% vs. 6.5%, p = 0.024). There were no relevant differences between the groups regarding pregnancy outcomes, although there was a trend of higher neonatal intensive care admission in the group of women with pregestational diabetes (45.2% vs. 36.1%, p = 0.051).

CONCLUSIONS

Overt diabetes was diagnosed in one third of this cohort of pregnant women with hyperglycemia. Their pregnancy outcomes were similar to those of women with pregestational diabetes and were mostly related to maternal demographic characteristics and metabolic control. A call to action should be made to identify women of childbearing age at risk for pre-pregnancy diabetes; to detect hyperglycemia before conception; and to implement timely preconception care to all women with diabetes.

Effect of Overt Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus on Pregnancy Outcomes and Progression

Background/Purpose

To study the clinical characteristics, outcomes, and the incidence of postpartum diabetes in women with overt diabetes and GDM.

Methods

This prospective cohort observational study was done on women with GDM diagnosed after the first trimester, attending the tertiary care hospitals for 2.3 years. Comparison of clinical variables and maternal and neonatal outcomes were recorded in women with overt diabetes and GDM. The postpartum glycemic status was determined at 1 and 6 months.

Results

There were 32(17.9%) women with overt diabetes and 146(82.1%) women with GDM. Women with overt diabetes were older, had a higher frequency of pre-pregnancy and maternal obesity, family history of diabetes, previous history of GDM, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), signs of insulin resistance, and need for insulin treatment than women with GDM. The prevalence of gestational hypertension and frequency of spontaneous abortion and large for gestational age (LGA) neonates were significantly higher in women with overt diabetes than in GDM, despite comparable glycemic goals. Postpartum diabetes at 1 and 6 months was significantly higher in women with overt diabetes than in those with GDM.

Conclusion

It is critical to identify women with overt diabetes in pregnancy because of increased risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, and rapid progression to postpartum diabetes, despite achieving optimal glycemic goals.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Preeclampsia: Correlation and Influencing Factors

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and preeclampsia (PE) are common pregnancy complications with similar risk factors and pathophysiological changes. Evidence from previous studies suggests that the incidence of PE is significantly increased in women with GDM, but whether GDM is independently related to the occurrence of PE has remained controversial. GDM complicated by PE further increases perinatal adverse events with greater impact on the future maternal and offspring health. Identify factors associated with PE in women with GDM women, specifically those that are controllable, is important for improving pregnancy outcomes. This paper provides the findings of a review on the correlation between GDM and PE, factors associated with PE in women with GDM, possible mechanisms, and predictive markers. Most studies concluded that GDM is independently associated with PE in singleton pregnancy, and optimizing the treatment and management of GDM can reduce the incidence of PE, which is very helpful to improve pregnancy outcomes.

Paradigm Shifts in the Management of Diabetes in Pregnancy: The Importance of Type 2 Diabetes and Early Hyperglycemia in Pregnancy: The 2020 Norbert Freinkel Award Lecture

For over 50 years, the diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been based upon an oral glucose tolerance test at 24-28 weeks' gestation. This is the time during pregnancy when insulin resistance is increasing and hyperglycemia develops among those with insufficient insulin secretory capacity to maintain euglycemia. The Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (HAPO) study and the two major randomized controlled trials of treating GDM are based upon recruitment of women at this time during pregnancy. Meanwhile, the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes in pregnancy, with its significant risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, has led to a need to identify undiagnosed diabetes as near to conception as possible. Screening for undiagnosed diabetes early in pregnancy also identifies women with hyperglycemia less than overt diabetes, yet at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Such women are more insulin resistant-with higher blood pressure, triglycerides, perinatal mortality, and neonatal hypoglycemia with a greater need for insulin treatment-than those with GDM diagnosed at 24-28 weeks' gestation. Currently, there is uncertainty over how to diagnose GDM early in pregnancy and the benefits and harms from using the current management regimen. Randomized controlled trials testing the criteria for, and treatment of, GDM early in pregnancy are urgently needed to address this existing equipoise. In the meantime, the importance of early or "prevalent GDM" (i.e., mild hyperglycemia present from early [before] pregnancy) warrants interim criteria and thresholds for medication, which may differ from those in use for GDM diagnosed at 24-28 weeks' gestation.