Project summary
Women who develop type 2 diabetes under the age of 40 have a greater risk of complications during pregnancy, including stillbirth. Professor Claire Meek will explore if and how continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) can help these women to have safer pregnancies. This research could reshape future care for women with early-onset type 2 diabetes, helping to make sure they have access to the tools they need.
Background to research
More and more people under 40 are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This is known as early-onset type 2 diabetes. Pregnant women with this condition are at higher risk of serious complications for both themselves and their babies, including stillbirth or newborn death. And so we urgently need to find new ways to improve their care.
Professor Claire Meek has shown that continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) can help pregnant women with type 1 diabetes. She found that spending more than 70% of time within target blood sugar range is linked to better pregnancy outcomes. Now, she now plans to test this technology in pregnant women with early-onset type 2 diabetes.
Research aims
Professor Meek and her PhD student aim to improve pregnancy outcomes for women with early-onset type 2 diabetes by identifying the best time-in-range targets they should aim for when using CGM technology.
First, they’ll review existing evidence about CGM during pregnancy in women with early-onset type 2 diabetes, to draw together what we know about the tech’s impact on blood sugar levels, weight, diet, and exercise during pregnancy.
They’ll then recruit 400 pregnant women with early-onset type 2 diabetes from hospitals in diverse areas of the UK, who’ll use a CGM device throughout their pregnancy. The researchers will analyse how CGM time-in-range affects pregnancy outcomes. This will help them set new targets for CGM use in pregnancies with early-onset type 2 diabetes.
Finally, the team will interview women about their experiences of using CGM throughout pregnancy to find out how it helped them, and how it didn’t.
Potential benefit to people with diabetes
Living with type 2 diabetes during pregnancy can be particularly challenging, so it’s critical that women get the right tools and information to reduce their risk of pregnancy complications. Insights from this study could help shape guidelines on how CGM should best be used to improve pregnancy care for women with early-onset type 2. New guidance could make this life-changing technology more accessible and help more women to have safe, healthy and happy pregnancies.
