Temporal variations in maternal treatment requirements and early neonatal outcomes in patients with gestational diabetes

Funder: NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre
Aims: There is seasonal variation in the incidence of gestational diabetes (GDM) and delivery outcomes of affected patients. We assessed whether there was also evidence of temporal variation in maternal treatment requirements and early neonatal outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of women diagnosed with GDM (75 g oral glucose tolerance test, 0 h ≥ 5.1; 1 h ≥ 10.0; 2 h ≥ 8.5 mmol/L) in a UK tertiary obstetric centre (2015–2019) with a singleton infant. Data regarding demographic characteristics, total insulin requirements and neonatal outcomes were extracted from contemporaneous electronic medical records. Linear/logistic regression models using month of the year as a predictor of outcomes were used to assess annual variation. Results: In all, 791 women (50.6% receiving pharmacological treatment) and 790 neonates were included. The likelihood of requiring insulin treatment was highest in November (p < 0.05). The average total daily insulin dose was higher at peak (January) compared to average by 19 units/day (p < 0.05). There was no temporal variation in neonatal intensive care admission, or neonatal capillary blood glucose. However, rates of neonatal hypoglycaemia (defined as