Interpregnancy weight change and recurrence of gestational diabetes mellitus: a population-based cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate recurrence risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) by interpregnancy weight change. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING AND POPULATION: Data from the Swedish (1992-2010) and the Norwegian (2006-2014) Medical Birth Registries on 2763 women with GDM in first pregnancy, registered with their first two singleton births and available information on height and weight. METHODS: Interpregnancy weight change (BMI in second pregnancy minus BMI in first pregnancy) was categorised in six groups by BMI units. Relative risks (RRs) of GDM recurrence were obtained by general linear models for the binary family and adjusted for confounders. Analyses were stratified by BMI in first pregnancy (<25 and ≥25 kg/m2 ). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: GDM in second pregnancy. RESULTS: Among overweight/obese women (BMI ≥25), recurrence risk of GDM decreased in women who reduced their BMI by 1-2 units (relative risk [RR] 0.80, 95% CI 0.65-0.99) and >2 units (RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.59-0.89) and increased if BMI increased by ≥4 units (RR 1.26, 95% CI 1.05-1.51) compared wth women with stable BMI (-1 to 1 units). In normal weight women (BMI <25), risk of GDM recurrence increased if BMI increased by 2-4 units (RR 1.32, 95% CI 1.08-1.60) and ≥4 units (RR 1.61, 95% CI 1.28-2.02) compared with women with stable BMI. CONCLUSION: Interpregnancy weight loss reduced risk of GDM recurrence in overweight/obese women. Weight gain between pregnancies increased recurrence risk for GDM in both normal and overweight/obese women. Our findings highlight the importance of weight management in the interconception window in women with a history of GDM. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Interpregnancy weight loss reduces recurrence of gestational diabetes mellitus in overweight/obese women.

Gestational diabetes mellitus and interpregnancy weight change: A population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Being overweight is an important risk factor for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), but the underlying mechanisms are not understood. Weight change between pregnancies has been suggested to be an independent mechanism behind GDM. We assessed the risk for GDM in second pregnancy by change in Body Mass Index (BMI) from first to second pregnancy and whether BMI and gestational weight gain modified the risk. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In this observational cohort, we included 24,198 mothers and their 2 first pregnancies in data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (2006-2014). Weight change, defined as prepregnant BMI in second pregnancy minus prepregnant BMI in first pregnancy, was divided into 6 categories by units BMI (kilo/square meter). Relative risk (RR) estimates were obtained by general linear models for the binary family and adjusted for maternal age at second delivery, country of birth, education, smoking in pregnancy, interpregnancy interval, and year of second birth. Analyses were stratified by BMI (first pregnancy) and gestational weight gain (second pregnancy). Compared to women with stable BMI (-1 to 1), women who gained weight between pregnancies had higher risk of GDM-gaining 1 to 2 units: adjusted RR 2.0 (95% CI 1.5 to 2.7), 2 to 4 units: RR 2.6 (2.0 to 3.5), and ≥4 units: RR 5.4 (4.0 to 7.4). Risk increased significantly both for women with BMI below and above 25 at first pregnancy, although it increased more for the former group. A limitation in our study was the limited data on BMI in 2 pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of GDM increased with increasing weight gain from first to second pregnancy, and more strongly among women with BMI < 25 in first pregnancy. Our results suggest weight change as a metabolic mechanism behind the increased risk of GDM, thus weight change should be acknowledged as an independent factor for screening GDM in clinical guidelines. Promoting healthy weight from preconception through the postpartum period should be a target.

Pre-pregnant body mass index and recreational physical activity: effects on perinatal mortality in a prospective pregnancy cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of maternal pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI) and recreational physical activity on perinatal mortality. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort (MoBa), 1999-2008. POPULATION: Singleton pregnancies without congenital anomalies (n = 77 246). METHODS: Pre-pregnant BMI was classified as underweight (<18.5), normal weight (18.5-24.9), overweight (25-29.9), obese (30-34.9) or morbidly obese (BMI ≥ 35). Risk estimates were obtained by logistic regression and adjusted for confounders. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perinatal death (stillbirth ≥ 22 weeks plus early neonatal death 0-7 days after birth). RESULTS: An increased risk of perinatal death was seen in obese [odds ratio (OR) 2.4, 95% CI (confidence interval) 1.7-3.4] and morbidly obese women (OR 3.3, 95% CI 2.1-5.1) as compared with normal weight women. In the group participating in recreational physical activity during pregnancy, obese women had an OR of 3.2 (95% CI 2.2-4.7) for perinatal death relative to non-obese women. In the non-active group the corresponding OR was 1.8 (95% CI 1.1-2.8) for obese women compared with non-obese women. The difference in perinatal mortality risk related to obesity between the active and non-active groups was statistically significant (P-value for interaction = 0.046, multiplicative model). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal obesity was associated with a two- to three-fold increased risk of perinatal death when compared with normal weight. For women with a BMI <30 the lowest perinatal mortality was seen in those performing recreational physical activity at least once a week.