Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

The present generation of women of childbearing age more frequently suffer from overweight, obesity, initial as well as fully established metabolic syndrome, which together with postponing motherhood until the third decade in life plays an important role in the increasing incidence of gestational diabetes (GDM) that currently affects about 1/5 of pregnant women. However the causal link between diabetes during pregnancy and metabolic diseases in the whole population is mutual. By way of epigenetic changes, maternal diabetes unfavourably programmes metabolism of the offspring, who tend to transfer the disorder to the next generations. Gestational diabetes is therefore an important link fitting into the accumulation curve of the incidence of overweight, obesity, metabolic syndrome and consequently also T2DM among the whole population. Genetic as well as epigenetic factors play a great role in the GDM pathogenesis, which is shown by the fact that this complication also affects women with normal BMI. When it comes to diagnosing GDM, we will need to manage also in future with establishing fasting glycemia and glycemia following glucose challenge (OGTT) that may include a considerable degree of measurement inaccuracy. It is therefore necessary to observe pre-analytical and analytical conditions of measurements in order to obtain a reliable result. It is a positive sign that the Czech professional associations have adopted new international criteria for diagnosing GDM which, as opposed to those valid earlier, better reflect the risk of pregnancy-related and perinatal complications.
The care for gestational patients with diabetes at a low risk (due to satisfactory glycemic control through a diet or small pharmacotherapeutic doses, with an eutrophic fetus and without associated complications) is provided by an outpatient gynecologist and a diabetes specialist, they can give birth in standard maternity hospitals. The care for gestational patients with diabetes at a higher risk is taken over by specialist centres. The early and appropriate treatment of gestational diabetes demonstrably reduces the risk of complications. The base for therapy is formed by regimen-related measures: the therapeutic diet and increased physical activity. The best results of the dietary therapy are achieved with foods low on glycemic index and glycemic load that can also act as efficient prevention of GDM and subsequent development of T2DM. A small number of cases require adding of pharmacological therapy: insulin and newly also metformin. Metformin is the drug of choice primarily in obese patients, however in almost half of the cases insulin must be added. Medication, in particular with insulin, must be introduced carefully, following re-education and elimination of dietary mistakes. The aim of the treatment is not only to achieve normoglycemia, but also to improve, or at least to not further worsen insulin resistance. Insulin resistance alone without diabetes, e.g. due to obesity or a great weight gain, may lead to macrosomia and epigenetic changes. In this regard, the prevention within the whole population of pregnant women needs to be improved and the vicious circle of the causation of metabolic disorders among the population needs to be broken.

Keywords: recommended procedure; epigenetic changes; gestation diabetes mellitus; macrosomia; screening