Over €825,000 funding for Diabetes in pregnancy research in the Saolta Group

The Saolta Hospital Group’s Atlantic Diabetes in Pregnancy Service (Atlantic DIP) under the leadership of Professor Fidelma Dunne has received over €825,000 in research funding from the Health Research Board (HRB) for clinical and health service research on diabetes before, during and after pregnancy.
As part of this research, work will begin in February 2016 on a trial to establish the effectiveness of metformin as a treatment for gestational diabetes (GDM). The randomized controlled trial is entitled EMERGE: A randomized placebo controlled trial of the Effectiveness of Metformin in addition to usual care in the Reduction of Gestational diabetes mellitus effects. Funding of over €799,900 has been provided by the Health Research Board to conduct this study over a 5 year period. The research will be conducted through the HRB Clinical Research Facility in conjunction with Professor Martin O Donnell (CRF), Professor Declan Devane (School of Midwifery NUIG), Dr Paddy Gillespie (School of Economics NUIG) and Dr John Newell (CRF). The research aims to evaluate whether the initiation of metformin at the time of GDM diagnosis reduces the need for insulin, and reduces the development of excessive gestational weight gain compared to placebo. It will document the impact on perinatal outcomes and postpartum maternal glucose. A detailed cost benefit and cost utility analysis will also be conducted.
The second HRB grant was received by Dr Aoife Egan and Professor Dunne under the Knowledge Exchange and Dissemination scheme (KEDS) entitled “High quality pre-pregnancy care is essential for women with diabetes”. Funding of €26,000 has been provided and will be used to provide a national seminar for women with diabetes to focus on the benefits of pre-pregnancy care and pregnancy planning. It is also planned to develop and distribute a diet booklet for women with diabetes who are pregnant or planning pregnancy and update the Atlantic DIP website to enable women and professionals to get information easily online. As part of this grant a national meeting of healthcare professionals and women with diabetes will take place to develop a Core Outcome Set (COS) that can be used by all researchers in reporting the benefits of pre-pregnancy care programs.
Finally Professor Fidelma Dunne, who leads the Atlantic Diabetes in Pregnancy Service, is the President- elect of the International Association for the Study of Diabetes in Pregnancy groups (IADPSG) and her four-year term will commence in March 2016. The IADPSG group was formed to encourage and facilitate research and advance education in the field of Diabetes in pregnancy. The Association aims to facilitate an international approach to enhancing the quality of care for women with diabetes in pregnancy. This appointment acknowledges Professor Dunne’s international reputation as a leader in the management of diabetes in pregnancy.