Impaired glucose metabolism in HIV-infected pregnant women: a retrospective analysis

Metabolic complications, including diabetes mellitus, have been increasingly recognised in HIV-infected individuals since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy, particularly protease inhibitors (PIs). Pregnancy is also a risk factor for impaired glucose metabolism, and previous studies have given conflicting results regarding the contribution of PIs to impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in pregnant HIV-infected women. We conducted a retrospective review of all HIV-infected women attending a combined infectious disease and antenatal clinic between 2007 and 2013 who underwent a 100g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24-28 weeks. We grouped the patients based on whether their OGTT result was normal or abnormal, and compared the groups using standard parametric tests (t-test and Fisher's exact test). Of 263 women with HIV who attended the clinic, 142 (53.9%) attended for OGTT and were eligible for inclusion. The mean age was 31 years (SD 5.37), all women were of European or African origin and 33.7% had a body mass index 30kg/m(2). About 93.7% were on PI-based regimens. At delivery, the mean CD4 count was 526 cells/mu L, and 13% of patients had a detectable viraemia. The prevalence of IGT was 2.8%, while the prevalence of GDM was 2.1%. Also, 71.4% (n=5) of women with abnormal glucose metabolism were taking PIs versus 94.8% (n=128) of normoglycaemic women (p=0.06). We did not confirm an increased rate of GDM in HIV-infected women in our patient population and found no association between PI use and GDM.