A Randomized Controlled Trial of Diabetes Screening Immediately Postpartum (DIP) - Follow up Study: Patient Perspectives on Postpartum Interventions to Improve Future Maternal CARdiovascular hEalth After Gestational Diabetes (PP CARE)

DIP: Individuals with gestational diabetes (GDM) during pregnancy have up to a 10-fold increased risk of developing of T2DM. Postpartum screening facilitates detection of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus with the possibility for subsequent preventive and treatment interventions. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommend screening individuals with GDM postpartum with a 75-g, 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) that includes a fasting blood glu-cose.4,6 This is historically performed at 4-12 weeks so that it will coincide with the timing of the typical postpartum visit. However, the rate of postpartum screening with the recommended method are low, as many individuals do not seek timely postpartum care-only a quarter to one half of individuals undergo diabetes screening in the first year postpartum. Multiple structural barriers exist for patients and healthcare providers to effectively complete postpartum diabetes screening via the current recommended method. An immediate postpartum OGTT has been proposed as an alternative to the current standard practice which is generally performed between 4-12 week postpartum OGTT at the routine postpartum visit. An immediate OGTT has comparable performance characteristics for detection of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes compared with a 4-12 week postpartum OGTT.

Follow up PP CARE: Postpartum adverse CVH is a critical public health problem and contributes to persistent and inequitable maternal health. Adverse cardiovascular health outcomes after delivery, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and obesity, are frequent and a major source of maternal morbidity and mortality. Ultimately, these conditions increase the risk of long-term cardiovascular disease which affects 60 million women in the United States (US). It represents the leading cause of death, contributing to 1 in 5 deaths in women in the US. Despite these epidemiologic associations, relatively less research exists on prevention, recognition and treatment of adverse CVH in high-risk postpartum women before the occurrence of clinical disease. Further, adverse CVH is more common among individuals who experience an adverse pregnancy outcome (APO), as well as adverse social determinants of health (SDOH), including self-identified minoritized race or ethnicity as a proxy for racism, low socioeconomic status, housing and food insecurity, and limited access to healthcare.