Risk factors of abnormal carbohydrate metabolism after pregnancy complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus

How diet, physical activity and psychosocial well-being interact in women with gestational diabetes mellitus: an integrative review

Background

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is associated with future cardio-metabolic risks for the mother and her child. In addition, one-third of women with recent GDM develop postpartum depression. Given these adverse impacts of GDM on the health of the mother and her offspring, it is important to intervene on modifiable factors, such as diet, physical activity, and psychosocial well-being. This integrative review therefore explored evidence on how these modifiable factors interact in women with GDM and their offspring, and how effective combined interventions are on reducing adverse impacts of GDM.

Methods

A comprehensive search strategy included carefully selected terms that corresponded to the domains of interest (diet, physical activity and psychosocial well-being). The databases searched for articles published between 1980 and February 2018 were: CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, Pubmed and Cochrane. Studies that were included in this review were either observational or intervention studies that included at least two domains of interest. Articles had to at least report data on maternal outcomes of women with GDM.

Results

The search strategies identified 14′419 citations after excluding duplicates. After screening titles and then abstracts, 114 articles were selected for detailed evaluation of their full text, and 16 were included in this review: two observational and 14 intervention studies. Results from observational studies showed that psychosocial well-being (social support and self-efficacy) were positively associated with physical activity and dietary choice. Intervention studies always included diet and physical activity interventions, although none integrated psychosocial well-being in the intervention. These lifestyle interventions mostly led to increased physical activity, improved diet and lower stress perception. Many of these lifestyle interventions also reduced BMI and postpartum diabetes status, improved metabolic outcomes and reduced the risk of preterm deliveries and low birth weight.

Conclusion

This integrative review showed that psychosocial well-being interacted with diet as well as with physical activity in women with GDM. We recommend that future studies consider integrating psychosocial well-being in their intervention, as observational studies demonstrated that social support and self-efficacy helped with adopting a healthy lifestyle following GDM diagnosis.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-019-2185-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

HbA1c as a predictor of diabetes after gestational diabetes mellitus

AIM

We wanted to investigate third-trimester HbA1c as a predictor of diabetes after gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

METHODS

Women with GDM were followed up prospectively for five years from pregnancy to detect the development of diabetes. The ability of HbA1c to predict diabetes was evaluated with receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

By five years, 73 of 196 women had been diagnosed with diabetes. An optimal cut-off point for HbA1c of 36mmol/mol (5.4%) could predict diabetes with 45% sensitivity and 92% specificity. For HbA1c ≥39mmol/mol (≥5.7%), sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value were 30%, 97%, and 91%, respectively. In logistic regression analysis, adjusting for the diagnostic glucose concentration during pregnancy, HbA1c levels in the upper quartile (≥36mmol/mol) were associated with a 5.5-fold increased risk of diabetes.

CONCLUSION

Third-trimester HbA1c levels in the pre-diabetes range revealed women with post-partum diabetes with high specificity and high positive predictive value. HbA1c testing could be used as a strategy to select high-risk women for lifestyle interventions aimed at prevention of diabetes starting during pregnancy. The results should encourage further validation in other populations using new diagnostic criteria for GDM.

Fasting and 2-hour plasma glucose, and HbA1c in pregnancy and the postpartum risk of diabetes among Chinese women with gestational diabetes

AIMS

Very few studies have assessed the association of fasting and 2h glucose, and HbA1c during pregnancy with postpartum diabetes risk among women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We assessed the association of fasting glucose, 2h glucose and HbA1c at 26-30 gestational weeks with postpartum diabetes risk among women with prior GDM.

METHODS

A cohort study in 1263 GDM women at 1-5 years after delivery was performed. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the association of fasting and 2h plasma glucose, and HbA1c at 26-30 gestational weeks with the risk of diabetes at postpartum.

RESULTS

The multivariable-adjusted (age, pre-pregnancy body mass index, weight gain during pregnancy, current body mass index, family history of diabetes, marital status, education, family income, smoking status, passive smoking, leisure-time physical activity, alcohol drinking, and intake of energy, saturated fat, and dietary fiber) hazard ratios of postpartum diabetes were 1.61 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.36-1.91) for each 1 mmol/l increase in fasting glucose during pregnancy, 1.63 (95% CI: 1.45-1.84) for each 1 mmol/l increase in 2h glucose during pregnancy, 2.11 (95% CI: 1.50-2.97) for each 1 unit (%) increase in HbA1c during pregnancy. When fasting glucose, 2h glucose and HbA1c during pregnancy were entered multivariable-adjusted model simultaneously, 2h glucose and HbA1c but not fasting glucose remained to be significant and positive predictors for postpartum diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

For women with prior GDM, 2h plasma glucose and HbA1c during pregnancy are independent predictors of postpartum diabetes, but fasting plasma glucose during pregnancy is not.

Type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes: The influence of changing diagnostic criteria

A previous diagnosis of gestational diabetes (GDM) carries a lifetime risk of progression to type 2 diabetes of up to 60%. Identification of those women at higher risk of progression to diabetes allows the timely introduction of measures to delay or prevent diabetes onset. However, there is a large degree of variability in the literature with regard to the proportion of women with a history of GDM who go on to develop diabetes. Heterogeneity between cohorts with regard to diagnostic criteria used, duration of follow-up, and the characteristics of the study population limit the ability to make meaningful comparisons across studies. As the new International Association for Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group criteria are increasingly adopted worldwide, the prevalence of GDM is set to increase by two-to three-fold. Here, we review the literature to examine the evolution of diagnostic criteria for GDM, the implications of changing criteria on the proportion of women with previous GDM progressing to diabetes, and how the use of different diagnostic criteria may influence the development of appropriate follow-up strategies.

Glucose intolerance after a recent history of gestational diabetes

Aim. Our aim was to evaluate the uptake of our current screening strategy postpartum and the risk factors for glucose intolerance in women with a recent history of gestational diabetes (GDM). Methods. Retrospective analysis of files of women with a recent history of GDM diagnosed with the Carpenter and Coustan criteria from 01-01-2010 till 31-12-2013. Multivariable logistic regression was used to adjust for confounders. Results. Of all 231 women with a recent history of GDM, 21.4% (46) did not attend the scheduled postpartum OGTT. Of the women tested, 39.1% (66) had glucose intolerance and 5.3% (9) had diabetes. These women were more often overweight (39.7% versus 25.3%, P = 0.009), were more often treated with basal-bolus insulin injections (52.0% versus 17.4%, P = 0.032), and had a lower beta-cell function and lower insulin sensitivity, remaining significant after adjustment for age, BMI, and ethnicity (insulin secretion sensitivity index-2 (ISSI-2) in pregnancy 1.5 ± 0.5 versus 1.7 ± 0.4, P = 0.029; ISSI-2 postpartum 1.5 (1.2-1.9) versus 2.2 (1.8-2.6), P = 0.020; Matsuda index postpartum 3.8 (2.6-6.2) versus 6.0 (4.3-8.8), P = 0.021). Conclusion. Glucose intolerance is frequent in early postpartum and these women have a lower beta-cell function and lower insulin sensitivity. One fifth of women did not attend the scheduled OGTT postpartum.

Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 and AGEs are associated with cardiovascular risk factors in women with history of gestational diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE

Although most women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) return to normal glucose tolerance after delivery, they have increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between plasma levels of Lp-pla2 and AGEs and cardiometabolic risk factors in women with GDM.

METHODS

190 women with GDM (cases) and 80 healthy women (controls) were enrolled. Demographic and clinical data were collected and analyzed about 2 years after the delivery.

RESULTS

Of the 190 cases, 19 (10%), 38 (20%) and 10 (5%) had type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome and hypertension after delivery, respectively. There were significant differences in variables between cases and controls: Lp-pla2 (pg/mL) 1991.5 ± 905.3 versus 1527.0 ± 799.8; AGEs (ng/mL) 403.0 ± 208.6 versus 321.8 ± 150.3. The plasma Lp-pla2 and AGEs levels were positively correlated with metabolic indexes in women with previous GDM.

CONCLUSION

Women with GDM have increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. AGEs and Lp-pla2 could be utilized as novel biomarkers to identify at an early stage of women with increased risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disease.