Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2026 Sep 23;48:e-rbgo150. doi: 10.61622/rbgo/2026rbgo150. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between overweight, pre-gestational hypertension, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in the immediate postpartum and fasting glycemia (FG) in low-income women one year after birth.
METHODS: This prospective cohort study assessed women who gave birth between February and August 2017 with gestational age > 35 weeks. Interviews and anthropometric evaluations were conducted within the first 24 hours after delivery. Pre-gestational anthropometric nutritional status was assessed based on maternal height measurement. Blood samples were collected after delivery and over the next year, and HbA1c ≥ 5.7% and FG > 100 mg/dL indicated a high risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A generalized linear mixed-effects regression model was applied.
RESULTS: Among the 130 women included, 28.0% and 2.3% were overweight and had pre-pregnancy hypertension, respectively; 20.0% had altered HbA1c in the immediate postpartum. As for FG, 4.6% and 14.8% were at risk of T2DM at the 6th and 12th months postpartum, respectively. The mean ± standard deviation of FG among the evaluated women was 77.9 ± 10.98 mg/dL after 6 months and 81.8 ± 15.49 mg/dL after one year of follow-up. In the model adjusted for age and schooling, the effect of overweight and pre-pregnancy hypertension was observed, as well as altered HbA1c in the immediate postpartum period, on the elevation of FG, increasing the risk of T2DM.
CONCLUSION: Altered HbA1c in the immediate postpartum period, pre-gestational overweight, and pre-gestational hypertension are risk factors for T2DM among low-income women, indicating the need to monitor postpartum glycemia.
PMID:42924389 | PMC:PMC13690367 | DOI:10.61622/rbgo/2026rbgo150