CMDHB Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Registry (GDMR) – Heading in the right direction?

Abstract

This poster updates progress on development of a Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) Registry in the Counties Manukau District Health Board area. GDM pregnancies have an increased risk of complications for both mother, and baby. For the baby risks include fetal macrosomia, operative deliveries, preterm birth, and neonatal hypoglycaemia. GDM also has implications for future pregnancies. Reports from a study done in the US found that a history of GDM made for 10 times the likelihood of developing GDM again. There is a greater than seven-fold increase in the risk of later development of Type 2 Diabetes and a one in five chance of developing T2DM within five years after delivery. One NZ study found that 19% of 110 women with GDM had developed T2DM after a mean follow up of 2.4 years. A clinical audit of the nearly 400 patients who attended the Diabetes in Pregnancy clinic at CMDHB in 2006 reported that nearly 80% of patients did not receive the recommended screening and by the end of a two year period nearly 40% still had not been tested. Early screening and followup is essential to improve the outcomes for these women and their offsprint, and evidence suggests that prompts to physician and patient can lead to better compliance with screening recommendations.