Treating Prediabetes in the First Trimester

The primary aim of the proposed research is to demonstrate that promoting a normoglycemic intrauterine milieu in women with prediabetes diagnosed in the first trimester of pregnancy with a Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) 5.7-6.4% or fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 92-125 mg/dL will decrease the accumulation of fetal white adipose tissue and development of infant/child obesity during the first year of life. This project is built upon the hypothesis that pregnant subjects with prediabetes randomized in the first trimester of pregnancy to strict glycemic control and pharmacotherapy as needed will have less fetal adiposity and adverse neonatal outcomes than those who receive the diagnosis of prediabetes but do not initiate care until the third trimester.

In the proposed study, 240 women meeting the above criteria for prediabetes at ≤ 15w0d gestation will be randomized to either first trimester or third trimester treatment. Each group will have diabetes education, initiate blood glucose monitoring, begin pharmacotherapy as needed (per established protocol), undergo growth ultrasounds, and antenatal testing. The first trimester arm will receive the above interventions immediately upon diagnosis of prediabetes whereas the third trimester arm will receive only routine prenatal care until 28 weeks at which time they will begin education and treatment. Both groups will be treated identically from 28 weeks until delivery.

In the 2013 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Gestational Diabetes (GDM) Consensus Conference, the panel was concerned about adopting criteria that would increase prevalence of GDM (i.e. first trimester treatment) without first demonstrating improved outcomes. The results of this proposed trial, will allow us to fill key research gaps; this is the first prospective trial to evaluate the International Associations of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) recommendations for screening and diagnosing prediabetes in the first trimester.

Findings from this research will quantify the maternal and neonatal benefits and harms of treating women with prediabetes from early pregnancy. Additionally, the cohort of neonates that will result from this study can be followed into childhood to evaluate whether first trimester treatment has benefits beyond those anticipated at birth and may decrease the long-term incidence of obesity and diabetes.