Study population- Study design
This is a prospective longitudinal study in which women with singleton
pregnancies with GDM and an equal number of control women with
uncomplicated pregnancies were recruited at the time of their routine
fetal ultrasound scan at 35-36 weeks’ gestation. Women with prior known
cardiovascular disease, pregestational diabetes, gestational or
pre-existing hypertensive disorder, fetal structural defects or
chromosomal abnormalities were not eligible to participate in this
study. Mothers were asked to bring their children for a repeat
cardiovascular assessment at around six months after delivery. Women
provided written informed consent to participate in the Advanced
Cardiovascular Imaging Study which received ethical approval (REC No
18/NI/0013, IRAS ID:237936). The prenatal data from this study
constitute part of data included in a previous publication from our
group (3).