Cognitive and Motor Development in 3- to 6-Year-Old Children Born to Mothers with Hyperglycaemia First Detected in Pregnancy in an Urban African Population.

OBJECTIVES: Hyperglycaemia first detected in pregnancy (HFDP), on the rise in urban sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), may negatively impact foetal neurodevelopment, with potential long-term cognitive consequences for the child. Data on this association from SSA is lacking, and we aimed to investigate the association in 3- to 6-year-old children in Soweto, South Africa. METHODS: In this comparative study, we compared cognitive skills measured with the Herbst Early Childhood Development Criteria test in 95 children born to mothers with HFDP and 99 participants unexposed to maternal HFDP. Fine and gross motor skills were secondary outcomes. Ordinal regression analysis with known confounders was performed for children born at-term. RESULTS: Of children exposed to HFDP born at-term, 24.3% scored 'high' and 25.7% scored 'low' in the cognitive subsection of the test, as opposed to 37.7% and 12.9% in the HFDP-unexposed group, respectively. In ordinal regression, exposed participants had a significantly lower odds of scoring in a higher cognitive category when adjusting for maternal confounders and socio-economic status (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.15-0.74, p = 0.007). No difference was found in gross motor development between the two groups; differences in fine motor development were attenuated after adjustment for maternal pregnancy factors and household socioeconomic status (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.28-1.37, p = 0.239). CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: Exposure to HFDP was negatively associated with cognitive development at preschool age. Optimising maternal (preconception) health and early childhood cognitive stimulation could help more children reach their developmental potential.

Maternal and neonatal outcomes following the introduction of oral hypoglycaemic agents for gestational diabetes mellitus were comparable to insulin monotherapy in two historical cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a disorder of glucose intolerance first encountered during pregnancy, has far-reaching implications for both mother and child. Insulin therapy remains the 'gold standard' of care, with oral hypoglycaemic agents (OHAs) increasingly being viewed as potential alternatives. OBJECTIVES: To compare maternal and neonatal outcomes in two cohorts of women with GDM exposed to either insulin monotherapy or OHAs. METHODS: A retrospective medical record review at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in South Africa was conducted for women with GDM diagnosed using the 100 g oral glucose tolerance test and/or random capillary blood glucose >11.1 mmol/L in 2010 - 2014. The findings were compared with a previous audit at the same clinic for the period 1992 - 2002. Variables of interest included maternal demographics, maternal comorbidities, glycaemic indices, treatments used during pregnancy, and obstetric and neonatal outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 192 women with GDM were identified for 2010 - 2014, and there were 348 women in the previous audit (1992 - 2002). Baseline characteristics and outcomes of women in the two cohorts were similar apart from earlier presentation (mean (standard deviation) gestational age (GA) 27 (7.5) weeks v. 28.3 (6.4) weeks; p=0.04), lower GA at delivery (36.3 (3.6) weeks v. 37 (1.6) weeks); p=0.008) and lower macrosomia rates (12.5% v. 4.9%; p=0.011) in the later cohort. When comparing the individual OHAs against insulin in the later cohort, both agents were comparable to insulin in terms of maternal and neonatal outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to the paucity of data on the safety of OHAs in GDM pregnancy in terms of maternal and neonatal outcomes. OHAs were shown to be an effective alternative to insulin for women with GDM in whom lifestyle measures fail, particularly in a resource-poor setting.

Incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus with HIV infection in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aims to investigate the incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in patients with HIV infection in African populations. SETTING: Only studies reporting data from Africa were included. PARTICIPANTS: A systematic search was conducted using four databases for articles referring to HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy, and T2DM in Africa. Articles were excluded if they reported data on children, animals or type 1 diabetes exclusively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence of T2DM and prevalence of T2DM. Risk ratios were generated for pooled data using random effects models. Bias was assessed using an adapted Cochrane Collaboration bias assessment tool. RESULTS: Of 1056 references that were screened, only 20 were selected for inclusion. Seven reported the incidence of T2DM in patients with HIV infection, eight reported the prevalence of T2DM in HIV-infected versus uninfected individuals and five reported prevalence of T2DM in HIV-treated versus untreated patients. Incidence rates ranged from 4 to 59 per 1000 person years. Meta-analysis showed no significant differences between T2DM prevalence in HIV-infected individuals versus uninfected individuals (risk ratio (RR) =1.61, 95% CI 0.62 to 4.21, p=0.33), or between HIV-treated patients versus untreated patients (RR=1.38, 95% CI 0.66 to 2.87, p=0.39), and heterogeneity was high in both meta-analyses (I2=87% and 52%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Meta-analysis showed no association between T2DM prevalence and HIV infection or antiretroviral therapy; however, these results are limited by the high heterogeneity of the included studies and moderate-to-high risk of bias, as well as, the small number of studies included. There is a need for well-designed prospective longitudinal studies with larger population sizes to better assess incidence and prevalence of T2DM in African patients with HIV. Furthermore, screening for T2DM using gold standard methods in this population is necessary. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO42016038689.