Influence of maternal hemodynamics on treatment for gestational diabetes

Arterial stiffening may worsen insulin resistance, demanding pharmacological treatment of gestational diabetes (GDM). A recent observational study investigated causal relationships between maternal hemodynamics and treatment requirements among women with GDM.

The study found-

• Maternal booking BMI has a causative influence on treatment requirements.
• Each unit increase in BMI increases the odds of needing metformin and/or insulin therapy by 12%. 
• Women requiring pharmacological management exhibit notably higher raw values of maternal heart rate and pulse wave velocity (PWV). However, these associations were particularly significant in causal logistic regression analyses.

This study shows that maternal BMI at booking has a causal, than associational, relationship with the need for pharmacological treatment of GDM. Furthermore, there is no causal relationship between maternal hemodynamics and the need for pharmacological treatment.

Anness AR, Foster M, Osman MW, et al. Do maternal haemodynamics have a causal influence on treatment for gestational diabetes? Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2024;44(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/01443615.2024.2307883