Background The cause of preeclampsia remains unclear. Limited data suggest that excess circulating soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), which binds placental growth factor (PlGF) and vascul...

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa031884

Circulating Angiogenic Factors and the Risk of Preeclampsia

This is the second iteration of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) joining forces to write guidelines on the management of diabetes mellitus (DM), pre-diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD), designed to assist clinicians and other healthcare workers to make evidence-based management decisions. The growing awareness of the strong biological relationship between DM and CVD rightly prompted these two large organizations to collaborate to generate guidelines relevant to their joint interests, the first of which were published in 2007. Some assert that too many guidelines are being produced but, in this burgeoning field, five years in the development of both basic and clinical science is a long time and major trials have reported in this period, making it necessary to update the previous Guidelines.

/pdf/2019-esc-guidelines-on-diabetes-pre-diabetes-and-4treq2fwvr.pdf

2019 ESC Guidelines on diabetes, pre-diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases developed in collaboration with the EASD

www.mobilehealthmap.org 617‐442‐3200 New research shows that mobile health clinics improve health outcomes for hard to reach populations in cost‐effective and culturally competent ways . A Harvard Medical School study determined that for every dollar invested in a mobile health clinic, the US healthcare system saves $30 on average. Mobile health clinics, which offer a range of services from preventive screenings to asthma treatment, leverage their mobility to treat people in the convenience of their own communities. For example, a mobile health clinic in Baltimore, MD, has documented savings of $3,500 per child seen due to reduced asthma‐related hospitalizations. The estimated 2,000 mobile health clinics across the country are providing similarly cost‐effective access to healthcare for a wide range of populations. Many successful mobile health clinics cite their ability to foster trusting relationships. Qualitative research in such mobile health clinics has found that patients value the informal, familiar environment in a convenient location, with staff who “are easy to talk to,” and that the staff’s “marriage of professional and personal discourses” provides patients the space to disclose information themselves. A communications academic argued that mobile health clinics’ unique use of space is important in facilitating these relationships. Mobile health clinics park in the heart of the community in familiar spaces, like shopping centers or bus stations, which lend themselves to the local community atmosphere.

Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care

Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

Background It is uncertain whether treatment of mild gestational diabetes mellitus improves pregnancy outcomes. Methods Women who were in the 24th to 31st week of gestation and who met the criteria for mild gestational diabetes mellitus (i.e., an abnormal result on an oral glucose-tolerance test but a fasting glucose level below 95 mg per deciliter [5.3 mmol per liter]) were randomly assigned to usual prenatal care (control group) or dietary intervention, self-monitoring of blood glucose, and insulin therapy, if necessary (treatment group). The primary outcome was a composite of stillbirth or perinatal death and neonatal complications, including hyperbilirubinemia, hypoglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and birth trauma. Results A total of 958 women were randomly assigned to a study group — 485 to the treatment group and 473 to the control group. We observed no significant difference between groups in the frequency of the composite outcome (32.4% and 37.0% in the treatment and control groups, respectively; P=0.1...

/pdf/a-multicenter-randomized-trial-of-treatment-for-mild-4uzn38o010.pdf

A Multicenter, Randomized Trial of Treatment for Mild Gestational Diabetes

An imbalance of pro- and antiangiogenic factors may lead to preeclampsia (PE). In this prospective nested case-control study, we investigated whether first trimester serum levels of placental growth factor (PlGF), a potent angiogenic factor, and its soluble inhibitor, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1), distinguished women who developed PE (n = 40) from those who developed gestational hypertension (n = 40), delivered a small for gestational age (SGA) newborn (n = 40), or completed a full term normal pregnancy (n = 80). Compared with controls, serum PlGF levels were lower among women who developed PE (23 ± 24 pg/ml vs. 63 ± 145 pg/ml; P < 0.01) or gestational hypertension (27 ± 19 pg/ml; P = 0.03), or who delivered a SGA newborn (21 ± 16 pg/ml; P < 0.01). In contrast, serum sFlt1 levels did not markedly differ between the groups: PE, 1048 ± 657 pg/ml; gestational hypertension, 942 ± 437 pg/ml; SGA newborns, 1011 ± 479 pg/ml; and normal controls, 973 ± 490 pg/ml. Multivariable analysis adjusting for...

/pdf/first-trimester-placental-growth-factor-and-soluble-fms-like-5guieh1k35.pdf

First Trimester Placental Growth Factor and Soluble Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 1 and Risk for Preeclampsia

Obesity and preeclampsia: the potential role of inflammation.

OBJECTIVE —Systemic inflammation is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. We tested the hypothesis that increased inflammation, measured early in pregnancy, is associated with the subsequent development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a precursor of type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —We conducted a prospective nested case-control study in a pregnancy cohort. First-trimester C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured using a high-resolution assay in 43 women who subsequently developed GDM and in a random sample of 94 women who remained euglycemic throughout pregnancy. Median CRP levels were compared using Wilcoxon’s rank-sum test. Logistic regression was used to compute unadjusted and multivariable-adjusted odds ratios for developing GDM among CRP tertiles. RESULTS —First-trimester CRP levels were significantly increased among women who subsequently developed GDM compared with control subjects (3.1 vs. 2.1 mg/l, P CONCLUSIONS —In women who develop GDM, there is evidence of increased inflammation during the first trimester. This association is mediated in part by increased BMI. Larger studies are needed to verify these results.

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/diacare/26/3/819.full.pdf

First-Trimester C-Reactive Protein and Subsequent Gestational Diabetes

Increased risk of cesarean delivery with advancing maternal age: Indications and associated factors in nulliparous women

Insulin resistance is implicated in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, but prospective data are limited. SHBG, a marker of insulin resistance among nonpregnant individuals, has not been studied in detail during pregnancy. We conducted a prospective, nested, case-control study to test the hypothesis that increased insulin resistance, marked by reduced first trimester SHBG levels, is associated with increased risk of subsequent preeclampsia. First trimester SHBG levels were measured in 45 nulliparous women who subsequently developed preeclampsia (blood pressure, > or =140/90 mm Hg; proteinuria, either > or =2+ by dipstick or > or =300 mg/24 h, after 20 wk gestation) and in 90 randomly selected normotensive nulliparous controls. Compared with controls, women who developed preeclampsia had significantly reduced first trimester SHBG levels (302 +/- 130 vs. 396 +/- 186 nmol/liter; P or =25 kg/m(2)), overweight women had lower SHBG levels than lean women (286 +/- 156 vs. 410 +/- 166 nmol/liter; P < 0.01), and within each stratum, women with preeclampsia had lower SHBG levels than their respective controls. In a multivariable analysis, the association between SHBG and preeclampsia strengthened among lean women, such that every 100 nmol/liter increase in serum SHBG was associated with a 55% reduction in the risk of preeclampsia (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.27, 0.77; P < 0.01), whereas in overweight women, the association was mitigated (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.62, 1.69; P = 0.9). We conclude that increased early pregnancy insulin resistance is independently associated with subsequent preeclampsia. First trimester SHBG levels may be a useful biomarker for preeclampsia, especially among lean women who otherwise would be perceived to be at low risk.

/pdf/first-trimester-insulin-resistance-and-subsequent-3dvoznjqr0.pdf

Jeffrey L. Ecker

Papers

First Trimester Placental Growth Factor and Soluble Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 1 and Risk for Preeclampsia

Obesity and preeclampsia: the potential role of inflammation.

First-Trimester C-Reactive Protein and Subsequent Gestational Diabetes

Increased risk of cesarean delivery with advancing maternal age: Indications and associated factors in nulliparous women

First trimester insulin resistance and subsequent preeclampsia: a prospective study.