Abstract

Objective:Hypertension before and during early pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in retrospective analyses. We aimed to investigate the prospective blood pressure trackings in a population-based cohort of pregnant women, who were stratified according to their metabolic status in early third trimester.Methods:We recorded blood pressure longitudinally during pregnancy in 1230 women from the Odense Child Cohort, Denmark. Fasting glucose and insulin were measured at gestational weeks 28-30. Metabolic status was evaluated according to the WHO 2013 threshold for GDM (GDM-WHO: fasting plasma glucose ≥5.1 mmol/l), insulin and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Relationships between metabolic status in third trimester and blood pressure trajectories were evaluated with adjusted linear mixed models. Trajectory was defined as blood pressure records in pregnancy per 4 weeks interval.Results:Prevalence of GDM-WHO was 40% (498/1230). GDM-WHO was associated with 1.46 (0.22-2.70) mmHg higher SBP and 1.04 (0.07-2.01) mmHg higher DBP trajectories in the overall cohort. The associations were driven by differences in the overweight group, with 3.14 (1.05-5.25) mmHg higher SBP and 1.94 (0.42-3.47) mmHg higher DBP per 4 weeks in women with GDM-WHO compared with women without GDM-WHO. GDM-WHO was not associated with blood pressure in women with normal weight. Blood pressure trajectories were elevated across quartiles of insulin resistance.Conclusion:GDM-WHO is associated with higher blood pressure in pregnancy, and there appears to be a stronger effect in overweight women.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Hypertension
Volume40
Issue number8
Pages (from-to)1614-1623
ISSN0263-6352
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1. Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • blood pressure
  • gestational diabetes mellitus
  • insulin resistance
  • overweight
  • pregnancy
  • WHO

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Elevated blood pressure in pregnant women with gestational diabetes according to the WHO criteria: Importance of overweight'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this