Few With Postpartum Diabetes Meet Recommended HbA1c Monitoring

TUESDAY, May 12, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Few women with postpartum-onset diabetes meet recommended hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) monitoring guidelines, according to a study published online April 30 in the BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.Natalie A. Boychuk, from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, and colleagues conducted a retrospective, population-based cohort study involving 5,590 women who delivered in New York City between 2009 and 2016 and experienced postpartum-onset diabetes to examine the association between social determinants of health and access to HbA1c monitoring.The researchers found that during the study period, few women received all biannual recommended follow-up tests (13.0 percent). Compared with non-Hispanic White women, non-Hispanic Black women were more likely to receive their first follow-up test later (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.90; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.00) and had a lower rate of testing over three years (adjusted rate ratio, 0.92; 95 percent CI, 0.84 to 0.99). A higher hazard of an earlier first follow-up and higher rates of testing were experienced by women insured by Medicaid at delivery compared with those with private or other insurance (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.14 [95 percent CI, 1.06 to 1.22]; adjusted rate ratio, 1.09 [95 percent CI, 1.03 to 1.15]). Lower rates of testing and a longer time to first HbA1c test were seen for women with more children compared with those with no prior children."Our study provides first-of-its-kind evidence on the relationship between social determinants of health and recommended A1C monitoring among postpartum women with newly diagnosed diabetes," Boychuk said in a statement. "Our findings reveal disparities by race and ethnicity, insurance, and parity -- and show that most women are not meeting recommended testing intervals."Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Few With Postpartum Diabetes Meet Recommended HbA1c Monitoring

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