Background: Offspring born following maternal gestational diabetes are at risk of excessive childhood weight gain and Type 2 diabetes in childhood, which in turn is associated with an increased rate of hypertension. We aimed to determine the systolic and diastolic blood pressure at two years of age in a cohort of children exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus using data from the MiG trial of metformin use in gestational diabetes. The secondary aim was to analyze these data by randomization of treatment to insulin or metformin.
Methods: The offspring of women who had gestational diabetes and had been assigned to either open treatment with metformin (with supplemental insulin if required) or insulin in the MiG trial were followed up at 2 years of age. Oscillometric measurement of BP in the right arm was performed by a researcher using an appropriately sized cuff.
Results: A total of 489 measurement blood pressure measurements were obtained in 170 of the 222 children who were seen at a median (range) age of 29 (22-38) months corrected gestational age. At the time of assessment the mean (SD) weight and height was 13.8(2) kg and 90 (4.2) cm respectively. For the whole group the mean (SD) systolic pressure was 90.9 (9.9) mmHg and mean (SD) diastolic pressure was 55.7 (8.1) mmHg. No difference was found between the metformin and insulin treatment arms. In a regression model, height and weight were only two factors associated with the levels of systolic blood pressure. For each additional kg the systolic blood pressure increased by 1.0 mmHg. For each additional cm of height the systolic blood pressure increased by 0.42 mmHg.
Conclusions: Blood pressure data was obtained at approximately two years of age in a substantial cohort of children whose mothers received treatment for GDM. These novel data compare favorably with published norms.
Clinical trials registry: This study was registered under the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ( ACTRN12605000311651 ).