Obstetric and perinatal complications more frequent in women with type 1 diabetes
January - 8 - 2010
Type 1 diabetes in pregnancy is still associated with a high rate of adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes, according to results of a large, population-based study conducted in Sweden. The investigation compared a total of 5,089 type 1 diabetic pregnancies with 1,260,207 control pregnancies and the odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for differences in maternal age, parity, body mass index, chronic hypertension, smoking and ethnicity. Compared with the general population, diabetes increased the risk of pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia (OR 4.47, 95%CI, 3.77-5.31) and cesarean section (5.31 [4.97-5.69]), even when adjusting for potential confounders. The odds of stillbirth (3.34 [2.46-4.55]), perinatal mortality (3.29 [2.50-4.33]) and major malformations (2.50 [2.13-2.94]) and very preterm birth (3.08 [2.45-3.87]) were also higher in the diabetic cohort. Additionally, 31% of infants born to diabetic mothers were large for gestational age compared with 3.6% of infants born to mothers in the general population, with the incidence of macrosomia increasing over time (Persson, M. et al. Diabetes Care 2009, 32(11): 2005).