Relationship Between Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Postpartum Diastasis Recti Abdominis in Women in the First Year Postdelivery.
Jingran Du, Juntong Ye, Hui Fei and 11 others
PMID 37774365WHAT IT FOUND
Women with gestational diabetes were more likely to have postpartum diastasis recti and wider upper abdominal separation.
Rectus abdominis strength was not different.
Key findings
01The study analysed 241 women, of whom 51 had GDM; in the matched analysis of 46 women per group, DRA was diagnosed in 37 women with GDM and 24 women without GDM, and adjusted odds were 4.792 times higher (95% CI 1.672 to 13.736).
02Ultrasound interrectus distance was larger in the GDM group at the superior border of the umbilicus (19.97 mm without GDM and 27.02 mm with GDM), at 2 cm above (16.98 and 24.17 mm), at 3 cm above (15.90 and 19.99 mm), and at 4.5 cm above (13.77 and 19.63 mm); locations below the umbilicus were not significantly different.
03No significant difference was found in rectus abdominis flexion strength between the GDM and no-GDM groups, and glucose levels were not correlated with strength.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
It was a single-centre retrospective study with a small sample, so chance and unmeasured differences still matter. Multiparous women were included, and whether they had diastasis recti from earlier pregnancies was not known. Diagnosis by finger palpation can be affected by abdominal fat thickness, although ultrasound was also used. Testing many abdominal locations can increase false-positive findings; the adjustment used was relatively mild. The blood glucose test used just before delivery was not sensitive enough to fully judge glucose control. Only rectus abdominis flexion strength was measured, not rotation or endurance. Women with GDM also received dietary modification and aerobic exercise, so the study cannot separate the contribution of GDM from its management.
Declared interests
Funded by Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation; the supplied text does not report other conflicts.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that gestational diabetes causes diastasis recti or that glucose control will prevent it. This was a retrospective matched cohort that showed an association, and it did not find a difference in rectus abdominis strength.