GESTATIONAL DIABETES AND PRETERM LABOR - IS GLYCEMIC CONTROL A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR

Objectives: (I) to evaluate the incidence of preterm delivery in patie nts with gestational diabetes mellitus; (2) to determine the associati on between glycaemic control and preterm delivery in these patients. S tudy design: (I) The incidence of spontaneous preterm singleton delive ries was determined in 550 intensively-treated patients with gestation al. diabetes mellitus. A total of 14 552 consecutive patients without gestational diabetes mellitus who delivered during the same interval s erved as a control population; (2) Glycaemic profiles (i.e., mean bloo d glucose, percent of hypoglycaemic [<60 mg/dl] and hyperglycaemic [>1 20 mg/dl] episodes) were compared in 34 patients with gestational diab etes mellitus who delivered preterm, and 68 matched controls with gest ational diabetes mellitus who delivered at term. Results: (1) The inci dence of preterm delivery in gestational diabetics was similar to that found in the non-diabetic population (6.2% vs. 6.5%, respectively, P= 0.82; confidence limits: 0.65, 1.36); (2) women with gestational diabe tes mellitus who delivered at term, or preterm had similar glycaemic p rofiles for both the entire treatment period and the week preceding de livery. Conclusions: (1) There is no increased risk for preterm delive ry in intensively-treated gestational diabetes mellitus patients; (2) In a population such as this women with gestational diabetes mellitus who deliver preterm cannot be characterised by their glycaemic profile . (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.