Early-pregnancy maternal heart rate is related to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common global metabolic disorder related to pregnancy. Previous studies have shown numerous risks for predicting GDM, still, there is limited knowledge about traditional risk factors in predicting GDM in the early stage of pregnancy. Hence, Jingbo Qiu and colleagues have conducted a study under the title “Early-pregnancy maternal heart rate is related to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)” published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. The summary of this research is given below:

Objective:

To investigate the relationship between resting heart rate (RHR) of early pregnancy and the risk of GDM in the Chinese population.

Method:

In this retrospective study, the medical data of 15,092 pregnant women who gave birth in 2019 was collected for analysis. The pregnant women’s age, pre-pregnancy body weight, height, parity, educational level, family history of diabetes, blood pressure, lipid profile, blood pressure, and RHR were assessed during 11 and 13th weeks. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the above-mentioned relationship. The study further evaluated the possible role of RHR in various sub-groups defined by their age, body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol, and triglyceride.

Findings:

The study shows the increase in early-pregnancy maternal RHR is related to a high risk of developing GDM. Early pregnancy maternal RHR could be a simple, cheap, and non-invasive tool, to identify women under high risk of GDM. This can be a tool to improve antenatal management and pregnancy outcome.

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