Enough evidence is available that associates gestational diabetes with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women. However, it remains unclear if gestational diabetes and cardiovascular disease in women extend to a diagnostic range. The objective of this study is to determine if glucose screening in pregnant women can be used to identify the risk of CVD.
This is a population-based cohort study that included a total of 259,164 women who have had a 50 g oral glucose challenge test in pregnancy. The participants were divided into six groups based on their results in the glucose challenge test. The primary outcome of the study was cardiovascular disease.
Out of 259,164 women, 13,069 had gestational diabetes, and 245,555 women were without gestational diabetes. At 3.9 years of follow-up, it was found that the risk of CVD increased at a rate of 13% corresponding to each 1 mmol/L increment in glucose challenge test. These results, however, were specific to women with the gestational disease. For women without the gestational disease, the glucose challenge result of greater than or equal to 7.8 mmol/L was associated with a higher risk of CVD.
The research concluded that gestational glycemia is linked with a significant risk of CVD, and glucose screening during pregnancy can help in identifying the subsequent risk of CVD.
Ref: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(19)30077-4/fulltext
