Follow-up of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in an Urban Safety Net Hospital: Missed Opportunities to Launch Preventive Care for Women

Background: Our study assessed the follow-up of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in the postpartum period among a racially and ethnically diverse group of women receiving care in a major urban medical center.

Methods: We conducted cross-sectional analysis of clinical and administrative data on women aged 18-44 years who gave birth at Boston Medical Center (BMC) between 2003 and 2009, had GDM, and used BMC for regular care. We calculated the rate of glucose testing by 70 days and by 180 days after delivery and used logistic regression to assess the predictors of testing.

Results: By 6 months postpartum, only 23.4% of GDM-affected women received any kind of glucose test. Among these, over half had been completed by 10 weeks but only 29% were the recommended oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). After accounting for sociodemographic and health service factors, women aged ≤ 35 years of age and women with a family practice provider were significantly less likely to be tested than their counterparts (odds ratio [OR] 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.32, 0.83 and OR 0.36; 95% CI 0.19, 0.71 respectively). Women who attended a primary care visit within 180 days after birth had three times higher odds of being tested than those without such a visit (OR 3.10; 95% CI 1.97, 4.87).

Conclusions: Despite widely disseminated clinical guidelines, postpartum glucose testing rates are exceedingly low, marking a critical missed opportunity to launch preventive care for women at high risk of type 2 DM. Failed follow-up of GDM by providers of prenatal and postpartum care also reflects a broader systems failure: the absence of a well-supported transition from pregnancy care to ongoing primary care for women.