Women born preterm or with inappropriate weight for gestational age are at risk of subsequent gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia.

Abstract

IntroductionLow birthweight, which can be caused by inappropriate intrauterine growth or prematurity, is associated with development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) as well as pre-eclampsia later in life, but the relative effects of prematurity and inappropriate intrauterine growth remain uncertain.MethodsThrough nation-wide registries we identified all Danish mothers in the years 1989-2007. Two separate cohorts consisting mothers born 1974-1977 (n = 84219) and 1978-1981 (n = 32376) were studied, due to different methods of registering birthweight and gestational age in the two periods. Data was linked with information on GDM, pre-eclampsia and education.ResultsIn a multivariate logistic regression model the odds of developing GDM was increased by 5-7% for each week the mother was born before term (p = 0.018 for 1974-1977, p = 0.048 for 1978-1981), while the odds were increased by 13-17% for each standard deviation (SD) reduction in birthweight for gestational age for those who were small or normal for gestational age (pConclusionIn this cohort of young Danish mothers, being born premature or with increasingly low birthweight for gestational age was associated with an increased risk of GDM and pre-eclampsia in adulthood, while increasingly high birthweight for gestational age was associated with an increased risk of GDM and a decreased risk of pre-eclampsia. Inappropriate weight for gestational age was a more important risk factor than prematurity.