Detailed description of a prepregnancy care program and its impact on maternal glucose control, weight gain, and...

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical and metabolic changes observed during a prepregnancy care (PPC) program.

We performed a retrospective, observational, cohort study of 104 women with type 1 diabetes initiating a PPC program from 2011 to 2014. The outcomes measured were changes in HbA_1c levels, weight and hypoglycemic events during PPC. Risk factors associated with severe hypoglycemia events, achieving the HbA_1c target and dropouts were evaluated.

HbA_1c decreased from 7.2 ± 0.8% (55.3 ± 8.8 mmol/mol) to 6.7 ± 0.9% (49.8 ± 10.3 mmol/mol) (P < .001) within a median of 14.2 months (interquartile interval 5.4-23.2); 71.2% obtained HbA_1c  < 7% (53 mmol/mol). HbA_1c at the end of PPC was associated with baseline HbA_1c (β = .318, P = .001) and the number of previous pregnancies (β = .224, P = .038), PPC was accompanied by 1.4 ± 4.0 kg weight gain (P = .003) without changes in severe hypoglycemic events. The risk factors for severe hypoglycemia were severe hypoglycemic events during the 2 years before (odds ratio [OR] 11.99, confidence interval 95% 1.89-75.95) and PPC duration (OR 1.09, 1.03-1.16). A total of 33 patients (31.7%) dropped out from PPC during follow-up, with dropout being associated with age (OR 1.17, 1.04-1.36) and PPC duration (OR 1.06, 1.02-1.11).

Our PPC program was associated with an improvement in glycemic control without a significant increase in severe hypoglycemic events, although with some weight gain. A considerable number of patients dropped out during follow-up, this being related to older age and a longer duration of the program. This information could be of help to design new and more effective PPC approaches. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.