292: The association between gestational diabetes mellitus and long term maternal cardiovascular morbidity in a follow-up period of more than a decade

Objective
To investigate whether a diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a risk factor for subsequent long-term cardiovascular morbidity.
Study Design
A population-based study comparing consecutive pregnancies of women with and without a diagnosis of GDM (with no prior cardiovascular diseases) was conducted. Deliveries occurred during the years 1988-1999 and had a follow up until 2010. Incidence of long-term cardiovascular hospitalizations and morbidity was compared between women with GDM and women who gave birth at the same period with no GDM. Multiple logistic regression models were constructed to control for confounders.
Results
During the study period there were 47909 deliveries who met the inclusion criteria; 4928 (10.3%) occurred in patients who were diagnosed with GDM. During a follow-up period of more than ten years, as compared with women who gave birth at the same time period, patients with GDM had higher rates of cardiovascular morbidity including cardiac invasive and non invasive diagnostic procedures, simple as well as complex cardiovascular events, and hospitalizations due to cardiovascular causes (table). Using multivariate logistic regression models, controlling for maternal age and ethnicity, GDM remained an independent risk factor for both, maternal long-term cardiovascular simple events (adjusted OR= 2.7; 95% CI-2.4-3, P < 0.001) and cardiovascular hospitalizations (adjusted OR= 2.3; 95% CI-2-2.5, P < 0.001).
Conclusion
Gestational diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for long term cardiovascular complications and for hospitalization due to a cardiovascular cause.