The effects of insulin therapy on maternal blood pressure and weight in women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Background Although insulin therapy achieves effective glycemic control, it may aggravate hyperinsulinemia. Nonetheless the benefits of insulin as first-line treatment for women with GDM are controversial. This work aimed to investigate the effect of insulin on maternal GDM. Methods This retrospective cohort study recruited 708 women with GDM of whom 616 underwent lifestyle intervention and 92 were prescribed insulin therapy. Differences in variables between the two groups were analyzed by univariate analysis and multivariate analysis. Propensity score matching was used to control for age, pre-pregnancy BMI, time and BP at GDM diagnosis, and family history of diabetes and hypertension. Paired sample test was applied to evaluate the changes in BP after intervention in the two groups of women. Results There was no significant difference in mode of delivery, newborn weight or incidence of macrosomia between women prescribed insulin and those who adopted lifestyle modifications. Insulin therapy was associated with a slight increase in maternal weight compared with the lifestyle intervention group and was attributed to short-term treatment (about 12 weeks). In addition, insulin therapy remarkably increased maternal blood pressure, an effect that persisted after matching age, pre-pregnancy BMI, time and BP at GDM diagnosis, and family history of diabetes and hypertension. Between commencing insulin therapy and delivery, systolic blood pressure significantly increased by 6mmHg ( P = 0.015) and diastolic blood pressure by 9 mmHg ( P < 0.001). Increase in BP was significantly higher in the insulin group compared with the lifestyle intervention group ( P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis with enter selection confirmed that insulin therapy was closely correlated with development of gestational hypertension (GH). Conclusions This work suggested that short-term insulin therapy for GDM was associated with a slight increase in maternal weight but a significant risk of increasing maternal blood pressure.