MAGiC (Maternal Glucose in Pregnancy) version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the glycemic profile of pregnancy: intensive CGM glucose profiling and its relationship to fetal growth.
IRAS ID
271768
Contact name
Eleanor M Scott
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
The UK has one of the highest rates of stillbirth and early infant death in Europe. Abnormal growth of the baby in the womb is a major factor leading to this. Many factors affect the way babies grow, but one of the most important and easiest to modify, is the amount of glucose they get from their mother. Too much glucose leads to a big baby, causing problems during pregnancy and labour, and an increased risk of future obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Pregnant women are offered an ‘oral glucose tolerance test’ (OGTT) to look for high glucose levels, but it’s done late in pregnancy relying on just 2 blood glucose readings. Many women have signs of the baby growing abnormally by this stage, so it’s not a good enough test. A new test called continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) might be better as it gives far more detailed information. It involves wearing a small patch on the arm whilst going about everyday life. It stores glucose measurements every few minutes, day and night, for two weeks, giving 4000 glucose readings. The aim of this MRC funded study is to determine: whether CGM can detect glucose abnormalities related to baby’s growth that current tests do not pick up; how common glucose abnormalities are; when in pregnancy they develop; and whether they improve after pregnancy. We’re aiming to recruit 500 women at the start of pregnancy from four NHS hospitals across the UK. Participants will wear a CGM patch (for a fortnight) on five occasions across pregnancy, timed to coincide with routine antenatal care appointments. Blood samples for research will be collected and stored on each occasion. At the end of pregnancy we will collect information on baby’s growth, its size at birth and take a sample of placenta and umbilical cord blood.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/YH/0011
Date of REC Opinion
17 Mar 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion