Randomized controlled study in pregnancy on treatment of marked hyperglycemia that is short of overt diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: A randomized multicenter study was conducted in the Stockholm-Örebro areas in Sweden to evaluate how treatment aiming at normoglycemia affects fetal growth, pregnancy and neonatal outcome in pregnant women with severe hyperglycemia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pregnant women with hyperglycemia defined as fasting capillary plasma glucose <7.0 mmol/L and a two-hour plasma glucose value ≥10.0 and <12.2 mmol/L following a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) diagnosed before 34 weeks of gestation were randomized to treatment (n = 33) or controls (n = 36). Women assigned to the control group were blinded for the OGTT results and received routine care. The therapeutic goal was fasting plasma glucose 4-5 mmol/L, and <6.5 mmol/L after a meal. Primary outcomes were size at birth and number of large-for-gestational age (>90th percentile) neonates. Secondary outcomes were pregnancy complications, neonatal morbidity and glycemic control. RESULTS: The planned number of participating women was not reached. There was a significantly reduced rate of large-for-gestational age neonates, 21 vs. 47%, P < 0.05. Group differences in pregnancy complications and neonatal morbidity were not detected because of limited statistical power. In total, 66.7% of the women in the intervention group received insulin. Of all measured plasma glucose values, 64.1% were in the target range, 7.2% in the hypoglycemic range and 28.7% above target values. There were no cases of severe hypoglycemia. CONCLUSIONS: Aiming for normalized glycemia in a pregnancy complicated by severe hyperglycemia reduces fetal growth but is associated with an increased rate of mild hypoglycemia.

Outcomes of gestational diabetes in Sweden depending on country of birth.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze maternal and neonatal outcomes for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Sweden, depending on country of birth (Nordic vs. non-Nordic women). DESIGN: Population-based cohort study using the Swedish Medical Birth register. SETTING: Data on pregnant women in Sweden with diagnosed GDM. POPULATION: All singleton births to women with GDM between 1998 and 2007 (n = 8560). METHODS: Logistic regression in an adjusted model to assess the risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Chi-squared tests or Student's unpaired t-tests were used to analyze differences between maternal and fetal characteristics. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Maternal and neonatal complications. RESULTS: GDM incidence was higher at 2.0% among non-Nordic women, compared with 0.7% in the Nordic group. The non-Nordic women were older, had less chronic hypertensive disease, smoked less, and had lower BMI and shorter height. Preeclampsia was significantly lower in the non-Nordic group. The mean birthweight (3561 vs. 3698 g, p < 0.001) and the large-for-gestational age rate (11.7 vs. 17.5%, p < 0.001) were significantly lower in the non-Nordic group. Large-for-gestational age was dependent on maternal height [crude odds ratio 0.6 (0.5-0.7) and adjusted odds ratio 0.8 (0.6-0.9)]. CONCLUSIONS: Non-Nordic women with GDM in Sweden have better obstetrical and neonatal outcomes than Nordic women. These results do not support the idea of inequality of health care. Large-for-gestational age as a diagnosis is highly dependent on maternal height, which raises the question of the need for individualized growth curves.