Objective: To examine the association of adverse outcomes among parturients with large for gestational age (LGA; birth weight > 90th) newborns, stratified by diabetes status. Additionally, we described the temporal trends of adverse outcomes among LGA neonates.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study used the U.S. Vital Statistics dataset between 2014-2020. The inclusion criteria were singleton, non-anomalous LGA live births who labored and delivered at 24-41 weeks with known diabetes status. The co-primary outcomes were composite neonatal adverse outcomes of the following: Apgar score < 5 at 5 minutes, assisted ventilation> 6 hours, seizure, or neonatal or infant mortality, and maternal adverse outcomes of the following: maternal transfusion, ruptured uterus, unplanned hysterectomy, admission to intensive care unit or unplanned procedure. Multivariable Poisson regression models were used to estimate adjusted relative risks (aRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Average annual percent change (AAPC) was calculated to assess changes in rates of LGA and morbidity over time.
Results: Of 27 million births in seven years, 1,843,467 (6.8%) met the inclusion criteria. While 1,656,888 (89.9%) did not have diabetes 186,579 (10.1%) were with diabetes. Composite neonatal adverse outcomes (aRR 1.57, 95% CI 1.53-1.62) and composite maternal adverse outcomes (aRR 1.37, 95% CI= 1.36-1.38) were significantly higher among individuals with diabetes, compared to those without diabetes. From 2014 to 2020, the LGA rate was stable among people without diabetes. However, there was a downward trend of LGA in people with diabetes (AAPC= -2.4, 95% CI -3.5, -1.4).
Conclusion: In pregnancies with LGA newborns, composite neonatal and maternal morbidities were higher in those with diabetes, compared to those without diabetes.