Predictors for pregnancy outcomes in Romanian women with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: a prospective study

Type 1 diabetes mellitus in pregnant women is associated with an increased risk of congenital malformations, obstetric complications, neonatal morbidity, and mortality. Our aim was to evaluate which factors from the first trimester of pregnancy have a significant impact on the pregnancy outcomes of women with type 1 diabetes.

We included 94 pregnant women with type 1 diabetes in this study. In these patients, we analyzed the influence of several diabetes-related parameters on the pregnancy outcome. We compared the parameters between two cohorts: those with successful pregnancies and those with adverse pregnancy outcomes, defined as spontaneous abortion or congenital malformations. The influence of several factors on the pregnancy outcome was assessed using multivariate and univariate logistic regressions.

The prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes was 28.7%, and was associated with poorer glycemic control (p <0.001), lower frequency of daily self-monitoring tests (p <0.001), smoking status (p <0.001), alcohol consumption (p <0.001), increased prevalence of chronic complications of diabetes, and the presence of ketosis. However, the adverse outcomes were not significantly associated with age, duration of diabetes, presence of thyroid disease, or body mass index. Furthermore, planned pregnancy was found to be a significant protective factor (odds ratio, 0.15; p <0.001).

These results indicate that by carefully planning the pregnancy, ensuring optimal glycemic control, and eliminating habitual risk factors, the fetal risk in pregnancies among women with type 1 diabetes may decrease to a value similar to that noted in women without diabetes.