Effects of COVID-19 home quarantine on pregnancy outcomes of patients with gestational diabetes mellitus: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the home quarantine on pregnancy outcomes of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) patients during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods

The complete electronic medical records of patients with GDM with home quarantine history were collected and classified into the home quarantine group from 24 February 2020 to 24 November 2020. The same period of patients with GDM without home quarantine history were included in the control group from 2018 to 2019. The pregnant outcomes of the home quarantine and control groups were systematically compared, such as neonatal weight, head circumference, body length, one-minute Apgar score, fetal macrosomia, and pre-term delivery.

Results

A total of 1358 patients with GDM were included in the analysis, including 484 in 2018, 468 in 2019, and 406 in 2020. Patients with GDM with home quarantine in 2020 had higher glycemic levels and adverse pregnancy outcomes than in 2018 and 2019, including higher cesarean section rates, lower Apgar scores, and higher incidence of macrosomia and umbilical cord around the neck. More importantly, the second trimester of home quarantine had brought a broader impact on pregnant women and fetuses.

Conclusion

Home quarantine has aggravated the condition of GDM pregnant women and brought more adverse pregnancy outcomes during the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, we suggested governments and hospitals strengthen lifestyle guidance, glucose management, and antenatal care for patients with GDM with home quarantine during public health emergencies.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• home quarantine
• pregnancy outcomes
• GDM
• macrosomia

Availability of data and materials

All data are available upon request from the authors.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author contributions

Q.C., X.L., and T.L. designed the study. Q.C., L.R., D.W., H.C., S.Y., and W.L. contributed to data collection and data cleaning. Q.C., Y.Y., and T.L. were involved in the data analysis, interpreted the findings, and wrote the manuscript. Y.Y., L.R., X.L., and T.L. reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors gave final approval for publication. T.L. is the guarantor of this work and, as such, had full access to all of the data in the study and all authors take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Acknowledgments

The authors also thank all involved laboratory technicians for the help with data collection and analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China: (grant numbers 81801458 and 81771614).