Background: UK NICE Guidelines suggest follow-up assessment with fasting BGL (FBGL) but not a Glucose Tolerance Test (oGTT)(1) in women with gestational diabetes (GDM). We previously published data indicating this would miss a substantial number with post-partum glucose tolerance abnormalities(2). A recent UK abstract reported good sensitivity and specificity for FBGL≥4.7mmol/L and HbA1c≥5.7% cut-offs in predicting post-partum dysglycaemia(3).
Aims: To assess prediction of 6-8 weeks post-partum dysglycaemia based on findings of post-partum oGTT results and concomitant HbA1c levels, in a large GDM cohort in South-Western Sydney.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data, (1993-2012), from our GDM database. Selected women had attended a post-partum oGTT with concomitant HbA1c collection. Glycaemic status was classified according to oGTT results, (not HbA1c), with IFG being FBGL≥6.1mmol/L. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of sensitivity plotted against 1-specificity were constructed for postnatal fasting glucose and HbA1c to detect post-partum dysglycaemia.
Results: There were 2024 women with available data, with oGTT (meanᆂSD) 9.7ᆂ2.6 weeks after delivery. Post-partum dysglycaemia (27.7%) was: 5.6% IFG, 15.0% IGT, 2.9% both IFG and IGT, and 4.2% Type2DM. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for any abnormality of glucose tolerance was higher for FBGL (AUC 0.732, 95% CI 0.703–0.762) than HbA1c (AUC 0.620, 95% CI 0.591–0.649)(Fig 1). This pattern was the same amongst the four major ethnic groups represented [South-East Asian (41.3%), Middle Eastern (24.1%) European (22.8%), and Indian/Pakistani (8.2%)], although AUC was greater for FBGL for Middle Eastern women (AUC 0.809, 95% CI 0.749–0.868)(Fig 2). Despite these findings, relying on both FBGL plus HbA1c would have missed 4 of 85 women with Type2DM and 23 of 303 with IGT, and 1357/1464 with Normal Glucose Tolerance would still have required an oGTT.
Conclusions: Even using low cut-offs of FBGL≥4.7mmol/L and HbA1c≥5.7%, data from this cohort of GDM women still support the use of oGTT to detect abnormalities of glucose tolerance post-partum.
Acknowledgment: All of the Diabetes Educators who have collected data and maintained the database.