Diabetes Prevention in Women With a Recent History of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)

The landmark Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) demonstrated that intensive lifestyle intervention in people with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) could reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes (Knowler, Barrett-Connor et al. 2002). These findings were consistent, regardless of ethnicity, age, body mass index (BMI), gender (Knowler, Barrett-Connor et al. 2002). However, the DPP lacks a specific focus on new mothers with a recent history of gestational diabetes despite their documented high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. Although there are recommendations that all women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) receive postpartum testing for diabetes and type 2 diabetes risk reduction, study findings suggest that women with a recent history of GDM may be unaware of their risk for future diabetes, and also do not take steps to reduce their risks (Kim et al., 2007). The postpartum period is also a time when many changes occur in a woman's life, with competing responsibilities often altering sleep patterns, work schedules, eating patterns, exercise regularity, and time allocation (Walker, 1999; Swan et al., 2007). New mothers may have difficulties engaging in healthy lifestyle programs because of lack of time and energy, and because of competing work and family demands, including child care (Swan, Kilmartin, and Liaw, 2007).

Modeled around the barriers identified in literature and gleaned from the focus groups and informant interviews of the preliminary study (2009p-000042), we have created a lifestyle/behavioral intervention that utilizes a modified DPP.