Lifestyle Behaviors In Women With And Without A History Of Gestational Diabetes

Lifestyle Behaviors in Women with and without a History of Gestational Diabetes Marnie McLean, Jamie Whitney, Janet Catov, Bo Fernhall, Jihong Liu, Sara Wilcox, Abbi Lane INTRODUCTION: Gestational diabetes (GDM) is associated with greater risk of cardiometabolic disease following pregnancy. Lifestyle behaviors are also associated with cardiometabolic outcomes. PURPOSE: To define differences in modifiable lifestyle behaviors during pregnancy and postpartum in women with versus without a history of GDM 6 months to 3 years following a singleton delivery, matched for age and race. METHODS: During a single study visit participants completed validated questionnaires regarding sodium intake, sedentary behavior, and physical activity. Measured height and weight were used to calculate current body mass index (BMI). History of GDM was determined via self-report (n = 14). Health behaviors may be associated with age and race, so age- and race-matched women without a GDM history (n = 14) was selected. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests or t-tests were used to test for differences in medians or means between those with and without GDM. RESULTS: 28 women (mean age = 33.9 ± 5.7 years; 17 White/10 Black/1 Asian race; mean time since delivery = 1.4 ± 0.7 yrs); were included. BMI was significantly lower in the non-GDM group, 30.03 ± 9.76 vs 36.41 ± 8.37 kg/m2, p = 0.04). Total physical activity scores were similar during pregnancy (GDM = 29.92 ± 4.3 exercise units [eu] vs no GDM = 34.93 ± 7.1 eu, p = 0.72) and following delivery (GDM = 26.18 ± 5.7 eu vs no GDM = 33.0 ± 5.9 eu, p = 0.78). There were no differences in subtypes of PA (strenuous, moderate, and light) during or after pregnancy. Current and pregnancy levels of self-reported weekday and weekend sedentary time were not different between groups. Current sodium intake was not different between those with and without GDM. CONCLUSIONS: BMI, but not lifestyle behavior, was worse in the early years after GDM delivery. Further research should investigate novel interventions to prevent cardiometabolic disease following GDM. Interventions might target a broader range of lifestyle behaviors. 18CDA34110038