Diabetes and Women's Health

The principle investigator of this cluster is Professor Fidelma Dunne. Professor Dunne has worked in the area of Women’s Health for 20 years. She is a member of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group (DPSG) of EASD and is the current President of the International Association Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) from 2016-2020. She works in collaboration with colleagues from the Schools of Nursing and Midwifery, Health Economics, Obstetrics and Clinical Biochemistry.

Her major research interest is in the area of Diabetes in the mother and its impact on pregnancy outcomes for the mother and her baby immediately in relation to the pregnancy, but also for their future health.

Currently her research group are conducting a number of studies as part of the ATLANTIC DIP programme including ‘EMERGE’ a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Metformin vs placebo in the management of pregnancies complicated by Gestational Diabetes (GDM). This EMERGE trial will lay the foundations for future longitudinal studies in the mother and her infant as the trial has developed rich clinical economic and biomarker repositories.

Another study is investigating a new biomarker (CD59) which if successful may be used for the screening diagnosis and follow up of women for GDM, instead of the current cumbersome oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).This study is in partnership with a collaborator in Harvard Medical School Boston.

Currently a 10-year follow up (metabolic and cardiovascular) of women with prior GDM in their index pregnancy is underway. This will compare metabolic and cardiovascular health parameters in women who had GDM in their prior pregnancy compared to those without. This work will also include an economic analysis and the outcome will inform health professionals and policy makers how to plan long-term health care for this population.

The Diabetes/Woman’s Health Research team has been involved in a number of international trials that have now concluded with significant contributions to the research literature. These have included a multicentre European funded (FP7) trial on prevention of GDM using Vitamin D and lifestyle intervention (DALI), CONCEPTT a JDRF funded trial examining the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring (CGMS) in women with Type 1 Diabetes during pregnancy and EVOLVE a pan European collection of outcomes for women with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes treated with Levemir insulin in pregnancy. The cluster is currently contributing to the EXPECT randomised controlled trial examining Degludec (Tresiba) insulin in women with Type 1 Diabetes in pregnancy.