title: Use of antidiabetic agents in the treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus in Germany, 2008-2012.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Adequate blood glucose control during pregnancy is important because gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is known to have adverse effects on the mother and child. Due to an increasing prevalence of GDM in recent years, more information on the use of different antidiabetic agents is required, which was the aim of the present study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 32 diabetic practices in Germany were collected from January 2008 to December 2012 and analyzed using the Disease Analyzer Database. All women with International Classification of Diseases diagnosis O24 (that is, GDM) participated, except for patients with known type I or II diabetes mellitus, who were excluded. Analysis focused on the proportion of women requiring drug treatment in general. Thereafter, subanalysis was performed with a focus on the administration of different antidiabetic agents, namely insulin, metformin, and sulfonylurea.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within the given timeframe, medication-based treatment for GDM significantly rose to reach 30.8% of all women with GDM. Both the administration of insulin and metformin grew considerably within the 5-year period with metformin being increasingly used without supplemental insulin and at lower dosages. Within the insulin treatment arm, insulin analogues became increasingly important. The proportion of sulfonylurea remained stable (0.2%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GDM is more often treated with antidiabetic agents and, due to the fact that metformin is more frequently prescribed, it can be assumed that it is increasingly regarded as a safe and effective alternative to insulin.
authors.affiliation: FOM University of Applied Sciences, Essen.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Heilmaier
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thielscher
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziller
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Altmann
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kostev
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008687:Metformin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013453:Sulfonylurea Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin; D013453:Sulfonylurea Compounds; D008687:Metformin
keywords: disease analyzer; gestational diabetes mellitus; insulin; metformin; treatment