Pre-conception diabetes control important
Women with type 1 diabetes should keep their blood glucose levels well controlled before they become pregnant, in order to minimise the risk of serious adverse pregnancy outcomes, results of a large Danish study indicate.
A blood measurement known as A1C is an indicator of how well glucose levels are kept in the normal range over the long term. The goal of the present study was to find a threshold pre-conception value for A1C below which the risk of having a baby with malformations or that dies soon after birth is no higher than in the general population.
Dr Dorte Jensen, at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense, and her associates found that the risk of serious adverse outcomes was statistically no higher than for the background population when women with diabetes had A1C readings of less than 6.9% around the time of conception. The risk of serious adverse outcomes increased gradually with levels of A1C above 6.9% and doubled when it reached 10.3%; at A1C readings of 10.4% or greater, the risk quadrupled.
"In conclusion," the investigators write, "the results of this study support a recommendation of preconceptional A1C levels less than 7% in women with type 1 diabetes, emphasis-ing the importance of prepregnancy counselling."
Source: Diabetes Care
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