Health outcomes of women with gestational diabetes mellitus in North West London: a 10-year longitudinal study.

Abstract

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is known to be associated with the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the health outcomes of women with GDM are poorly understood. The aim of this study is to better understand long-term outcomes for women having suffered GDM.

Methods: Among 2.3 million people in North West London in the Discover-NOW dataset, we identified a group of 400 subjects coded with GDM between 2010 and 2011 and followed them up through to the end of 2021. Affected individuals were assessed for a variety of complications (eg, hypertension, diabetic eye disease, cerebrovascular disease, ischaemic heart disease, fatty liver disease and diabetic foot disease) and time-to-event analyses were performed.

Results: The median age of first pregnancy among the study cohort was 31.57 years, with a diverse ethnic mix observed. Increased rates of T2DM, diabetic eye complications and fatty liver disease were observed. HRs (adjusted for age category, ethnicity and Index of Multiple Deprivation) were 11.32 for T2DM, 5.27 for diabetic eye complications, 7.86 for fatty liver disease and 5.69 for any comorbidity.

Conclusion: We have shown the burden of multimorbidity following GDM from real-world data over a 10-year period and demonstrated high rates of diabetic eye complications and fatty liver disease that have not been shown before.