Diabetes mellitus in the 21 years after a pregnancy that was complicated by hypertension: findings from a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and self-reported diabetes mellitus 21 years after delivery. STUDY DESIGN: The Mater-University of Queensland Study is a prospective cohort study of women who received antenatal care at a major public hospital in Brisbane, Australia, between 1981 and 1984; 3639 women who completed the questionnaire at 21 years postpartum were included. RESULTS: Of the women without HDP, 7.4% reported a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus compared with 15.3% of the women with HDP (unadjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.03; 95% Cl, 1.42, 2.91). After adjustment for all potentially explanatory variables, only prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and BMI at 21 years after delivery resulted in attenuation of the association (fully adjusted OR, 1.76; 95% Cl, 1.21, 2.56). In a smaller subgroup, waist circumference and BMI at 21 years had similar effects on point estimates (fully adjusted OR with BMI, 1.64 [95% CI, 1.11, 2.42]; fully adjusted OR with waist, 1.60 [95% CI, 1.08, 2.40]). CONCLUSION: HDP are associated with reported diagnosis of diabetes mellitus 21 years after delivery.