Universal HbA1c Measurement in Early Pregnancy to Detect Type 2 Diabetes Reduces Ethnic Disparities in Antenatal Diabetes Screening: A Population-Based Observational Study.

ABSTRACT: In response to the type 2 diabetes epidemic, measuring HbA1c with the first-antenatal blood screen was recently recommended in NZ. This would enable prompt treatment of women with unrecognised type 2 diabetes, who may otherwise go undetected until the gestational diabetes (GDM) screen. We compare inter-ethnic antenatal screening practices to examine whether the HbA1c test would be accessed by ethnicities most at risk of diabetes, and we determined the prevalence of unrecognised type 2 diabetes and prediabetes in our pregnant population. This is an observational study of pregnancies in Christchurch NZ during 2008-2010. Utilising electronic databases, we matched maternal characteristics to first-antenatal bloods, HbA1c, and GDM screens (glucose challenge tests and oral glucose tolerance test

SUBMITTER: Hughes RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4896429 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature