Impact of Gestational Diabetes and Hypertension Disorders of Pregnancy on Neonatal Outcomes in Twin Pregnancies Based on Chorionicity

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of the co-existence of gestational diabetes (GDM) and hypertension disorders of pregnancy (HDP) on neonatal outcomes in twin pregnancies based on chorionicity. Methods: A retrospective study of 1398 women with twin pregnancies was performed between January 2016 and December 2021. The effects of GDM and HDP on neonatal outcomes were assessed by logistic regression models. An additional stratified analysis was conducted to estimate the effects based on chorionicity (monochorionic (MC) and dichorionic (DC)). Results: The incidence of the co-existence of GDM and HDP was 3.8%. The presence of GDM increased the likelihood of HDP only in women with MC twin pregnancies (OR, 2.13; 95% CI 1.08–4.19). After adjustments, co-existence of GDM and HDP was positively associated with gestational age (β, 1.06; 95% CI 0.43–1.69) and birthweight (β, 174.90; 95% CI 8.91–340.89) in MC twin pregnancies, while no associations were found between co-existence of GDM and HDP and neonatal outcomes in DC twin pregnancies. However, HDP was negatively associated with birthweight (β, −156.97; 95% CI (−257.92, −56.02)) and positively associated with small-for-gestational-age (SGA) (OR, 2.03; 95% CI 1.02–4.03) and discordant twins (OR, 2.83; 95% CI 1.78–4.48) in DC twin pregnant women without GDM. Conclusions: Our results suggested that GDM leads to an increased risk of HDP only in MC twin pregnancies, but GDM seemed to attenuate the adverse effects of HDP on perinatal outcomes in both MC and DC twin pregnancies. Further investigation is needed to explain these intriguing findings.