ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To analyze the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on
serum glucose levels of
pregnant women.
DESIGN:
A retrospective
analysis of O'Sullivan test in
pregnant women who underwent COVID-19 lockdown compared to controls. SITE Poniente
Primary Health Care center in Córdoba (
Spain).
PARTICIPANTS:
235
pregnant women from 23+0 to 25+0 weeks of
gestation without
diabetes mellitus.
INTERVENTIONS:
Gestational diabetes mellitus screening with O'Sullivan test and 3-h
oral glucose tolerance test. MAIN MEASUREMENTS
Pregnant women who underwent
gestational diabetes mellitus screening with O'Sullivan test before (
control group) and during COVID-19 Lockdown (Lockdown group) in Córdoba (
Spain) were investigated. Lockdown group was divided in early and late lockdown. An additional,
control group from data of the same months of the Lockdown in the previous year were recorded to discarded seasonally (adjusted seasonally control) this group was also divided in early and late seasonally adjusted. A
logistic regression model for O'Sullivan test has been performed to analyze potential cofounders. Kolgomorov-Smirnov and Kruskal-Wallis test comparing
pregnant women who underwent COVID-19 lockdown with the two types of controls.
RESULTS:
Statistically significant differences were found in
serum glucose after O'Sullivan test between lockdown group and
control group (123.51±26.02mg/dL and 112.86±31.28mg/dL; p=0.017). When early lockdown group and
control group were compared no differences were found (119.64±26.18mg/dL vs. 112.86±31.28mg/dL; p>0.05) whereas differences were observed in late lockdown group and
control group (127.22±25.59mg/dL vs. 112.86±31.28mg/dL; p=0.009). Statistical
trends were also found between lockdown group and seasonally adjusted group and between lockdown and late seasonally adjusted group (p=0.089). A higher proportion of positive O'Suvillan
pregnant women who were subsequently diagnosed with GDM were found in lockdown group compared to the seasonally adjusted
control group (60% vs. 26.06% respectively; p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS:
The COVID-19 lockdown was associated with an increase in
serum glucose levels after the O'Sullivan test as well as a higher GDM
diagnosis risk in
pregnant women. The findings of our study emphasize the essential requirement for comprehensive maternal services and the accessibility to
community's
health assets during
future lockdown scenarios to
pregnant women.