Title of project

Integrating pregnancy and reproductive health characteristics to understand heterogeneity, intergenerational risk and long-term consequences of diabetes in women

Abstract

Globally, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is on the rise as a result of aging
populations and improved screening practices, while individuals are getting diagnosed
at a younger age. Women have a unique risk profile for T2DM which is influenced not
only by conventional cardiometabolic factors but also reproductive health and
pregnancy, with gestational diabetes (GDM) being the most prominent factor for a
future T2DM diagnosis. Currently, there is limited knowledge on the heterogeneity of
GDM as well as lack of robust prediction models quantifying risk of GDM and future
T2DM in women incorporating intergenerational effects and reproductive history.
Further, there is limited evidence on the impact of young onset T2DM on women’s
health and the healthcare system.

The proposed fellowship project aims to address these research gaps by three distinct
work packages (WPs), each of them corresponding to a separate research objective.
WP1 aims to explore heterogeneity in GDM risk and GDM subtypes and use these
insights to develop a GDM risk prediction model. WP2 involves the development of
register-based risk prediction models for GDM and T2DM incorporating reproductive
health and pregnancy characteristics as well as intergenerational effects. WP3 aims
to compare multimorbidity incidence and healthcare resource utilisation between
women with T2DM in pregnancy and those with a normoglycemic pregnancy, as well
as women with T2DM with and without pregnancy complications.

This research is of direct relevance to patient care with important clinical implications
as it aims to identify distinct risk profiles and develop personalised risk prediction tools
for women at risk which can guide screening practices, strategies for prevention as
well as healthcare planning, leading to improved health outcomes in this population.