Ferrara A, Hedderson MM, Brown SD, Albright CL, Ehrlich SF, Tsai AL, Caan BJ, Sternfeld B, Gordon NP, Schmittdiel JA, Gunderson EP, Mevi AA, Herman WH, Ching J, Crites Y, and Quesenberry CP Jr
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of diabetes prevention strategies addressing postpartum weight retention for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) delivered at the health system level: mailed recommendations (usual care) versus usual care plus a Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)-derived lifestyle intervention., Research Design and Methods: This study was a cluster randomized controlled trial of 44 medical facilities (including 2,280 women with GDM) randomized to intervention or usual care. The intervention included mailed gestational weight gain recommendations plus 13 telephone sessions between 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Primary outcomes included the following: proportion meeting the postpartum goals of 1) reaching pregravid weight if pregravid BMI <25.0 kg/m(2) or 2) losing 5% of pregravid weight if BMI ≥25.0 kg/m(2); and pregravid to postpartum weight change., Results: On average, over the 12-month postpartum period, women in the intervention had significantly higher odds of meeting weight goals than women in usual care (odds ratio [OR] 1.28 [95% CI 1.10, 1.47]). The proportion meeting weight goals was significantly higher in the intervention than usual care at 6 weeks (25.5 vs. 22.4%; OR 1.17 [1.01, 1.36]) and 6 months (30.6 vs. 23.9%; OR 1.45 [1.14, 1.83]). Condition differences were reduced at 12 months (33.0 vs. 28.0%; OR 1.25 [0.96, 1.62]). At 6 months, women in the intervention retained significantly less weight than women in usual care (mean 0.39 kg [SD 5.5] vs. 0.95 kg [5.5]; mean condition difference -0.64 kg [95% CI -1.13, -0.14]) and had greater increases in vigorous-intensity physical activity (mean condition difference 15.4 min/week [4.9, 25.8])., Conclusions: A DPP-derived lifestyle intervention modestly reduced postpartum weight retention and increased vigorous-intensity physical activity., (© 2016 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered.)