Maternal and neonatal outcomes following a diabetic pregnancy within the context of HIV

To characterize the demographics, comorbidities, management, and outcomes of pregnant women with pre-gestational and gestational diabetes (GDM), including overt and true GDM, taking into account HIV infection and the influence of exposure to oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs).

A review of medical records of 1071 diabetic pregnancies (between 2012 and 2018) at a tertiary hospital in South Africa.

Of the women, 43% had GDM, 19% had type 1 diabetes (T1DM), and 38% had type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Each group had a mean initial body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m² . Despite poor initial HbA1c for pre-gestational groups, over 90% of the cohort achieved glycemic control by the time of delivery. The rate of prematurity was 30.9%. Perinatal mortality (PNM) was 5.1% for the pre-gestational group and 1.8% for GDM. Of the cohort, 23.9% was HIV infected. PNM was higher in the HIV-infected pregnancies (9.4%) than non-HIV exposed pregnancies (1.8%, P<0.001). The macrosomia rate was higher in the glibenclamide-exposed group than the insulin-alone group (12.2% vs 0%, P=0.025).

Obesity is a significant predictor for macrosomia and was high in all groups. In a low-/middle-income country setting with a high prevalence of HIV and high usage of OHAs as an alternative to insulin therapy, HIV might be associated with higher PNM and glibenclamide with increased rates of macrosomia, which warrants further exploration.