Investigating maternal and fetal outcomes for women with GDM
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating maternal and fetal outcomes for women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM).
IRAS ID
182471
Contact name
Marlene Sinclair
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Ulster University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is glucose intolerance which begins or is first diagnosed during pregnancy (Metzger and Coustan 1998). The number of women being diagnosed with GDM during pregnancy has increased in recent years. The increase in cases of GDM is due in part to a change in diagnostic criteria due to studies such as that by the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (HAPO) Study Cooperative Research Group (2008) which identified maternal and fetal risks associated with diabetes at lower glucose levels and the introduction of the 2015 NICE guidelines. The rate of GDM is also increasing with the global obesity profile (World Health Organisation (WHO) 2015) and higher maternal age at delivery (Snapp and Donaldson 2008).
Due to these increasing level of GDM, it is important to get a better understanding of the levels and patterns of cases across Northern Ireland. In addition, with the newly formed Honest Broker Service (HBS) there is an opportunity to link datasets to obtain a larger number of known and potential risk factors for analysis purposes. Consequently, knowing which risk factors are most strongly linked with GDM in NI will allow more targeted interventions during pregnancy.
The overall study aim is to investigate maternal and fetal outcomes for women with GDM.
The study will use data from the Northern Ireland Maternity Database (NIMATS) to create a picture for Northern Ireland on GDM rates and distribution and identify the risk factors. Through the linking of NIMATS data with Diamond Data from the Ulster Hospital and data from the Enhanced Prescribing Database it will be possible to profile GDM mothers with non GDM mothers and mothers with pre-existing diabetes. The study will also explore the outcomes for the baby when the mother has been diagnosed with GDM. The data will be linked, anonymised and securely stored by the HBS.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0763
Date of REC Opinion
16 Sep 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion