Diabetes, GestationalPhase 3NCT05280496
A Pragmatic Approach to Lower Diabetes Risk After Gestational Diabetes
A Phase 3 study testing Metformin in people with Diabetes, Gestational and PreDiabetes, run by Tufts Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study is testing whether daily metformin for 1 year postpartum can reduce risk of diabetes in patients who had gestational diabetes. Typical care for prediabetes after gestational diabetes is counseling on diet and lifestyle. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older, women only
- Conditions the study is for
- Diabetes, Gestational, PreDiabetes, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
- What is being tested?
- Metformin
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 20 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Jun 2022to 18 Apr 2025
- Phase
- Phase 3
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- Women only
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Women currently pregnant with planned delivery at Tufts Medical Center
- Gestational diabetes mellitus diagnosed during pregnancy
- ≥18 years of age
- Opted for the 2 hour 75 gram OGTT during postpartum hospitalization
- Willing and able to sign the informed consent
Who cannot join
- Unable to commit to required study visits for any reason.
- Contraindications to metformin
- Liver disease
- Impaired renal function (Creatinine Clearance> )
- Congestive heart failure(CHF)
- Taking drugs that could interfere with metformin metabolism
Show all 10Show fewer
- Taking metformin outside of pregnancy
- Prescribed medications for chronic disease that affect glucose metabolism (e.g., long term oral steroids).
- Decided against the 2 hour 75 gram OGTT during postpartum hospitalization.
- Preexisting diabetes mellitus.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Implementation of a Pragmatic Approach to Lower Diabetes Mellitus Risk After a Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
This study is testing whether daily metformin for 1 year postpartum can reduce risk of diabetes in patients who had gestational diabetes. Typical care for prediabetes after gestational diabetes is counseling on diet and lifestyle. This study is researching whether management of diabetes prevention is more effective with the drug metformin. This study will be conducted at Tufts Medical Center.
Read the detailed description
Women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) represent a unique population who may benefit from metformin as much as lifestyle intervention; when metformin is prescribed to these women remote from delivery after a diagnosis of prediabetes, it reduces their risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM) by up to 40% over 10 years. However, in the current system in which gestational diabetes diagnosis, prediabetes testing, and metformin prescription are temporally separated by months to years, less than 20% of postpartum women undergo prediabetes testing. When prediabetes is identified in women with a history of GDM, only 7.8% are prescribed metformin.
Given the increasing public health burden of DM, there is an urgent need to remedy this problem and correct this deficiency in health care delivery that allows so many at-risk women to remain unidentified and untreated.
Compelling preliminary data, confirmed at several other sites, indicates that the postpartum glucose tolerance test to identify individuals with prediabetes can be moved from 4-12 weeks postpartum to 1-4 days postpartum, when women are still hospitalized, with test compliance of 92% and no reduction in sensitivity or specificity for prediabetes.
When individuals with a history of GDM and prediabetes are prescribed metformin, they experience a 50% reduction in DM risk and a 3 kg increase in weight loss over three years compared to placebo. If these same benefits are realized when metformin is initiated soon after delivery, then a simple change in postpartum care so that metformin is routinely prescribed at hospital discharge to women with a history of GDM and prediabetes could improve the health of thousands of women annually by decreasing the number of women who develop DM and fail to achieve postpartum weight loss.
Each year in the United States, approximately 280,000 women are diagnosed with GDM. Without intervention, up to 70% of these women will develop diabetes mellitus (DM) over their lifetime, resulting in devastating health consequences and escalating health care costs. However, implementing a postpartum glucose tolerance test and intervening with metformin for those with prediabetes may be a cost-effective change to postpartum care that would result in a profound decrease in DM incidence.
- Being tested
- Metformin
- Keywords
- gestational diabetes, diabetes risk, medical management, risk prevention, postpartum, diabetes, metformin
- Medical subject headings
- Diabetes, Gestational, Prediabetic State, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Diabetes Mellitus
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
MetforminDrug
Metformin is used to lower blood sugar in patients with high blood sugar (diabetes).
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Metformin | Experimental | Participants will be given a daily prescription of metformin for 12 months postpartum. At 12 months and again at 15 months (3 months off the drug), HbA1c and weight will be assessed. Receives: Drug: Metformin |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
HbA1C
These results will be shared with participants and their providers. Any participants who accepted metformin but do not have diabetes will be asked to stop all study medication and no more study medication will be dispensed.
Measured: 12 months
HbA1C
At 15 months postpartum, study participants with prediabetes will be seen again for their final study visit. The investigators intend to follow all participants for 3 months after metformin treatment ends for both safety reasons and efficacy reasons. If the metformin was masking diabetes, the investigators want the opportunity to identify those participants and refer them for treatment. Additionally, prior studies have not determined whether the benefits of metformin extend after the medication is discontinued (as indicated by the FDA when the investigators requested to use metformin in the first year postpartum).
Measured: 15 months
Secondary outcomes (2)
Weight
Measured: 12 months
Weight
Measured: 15 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted15 Mar 2022
- Study start1 Jun 2022
- Primary completion1 Mar 2025
- Study completion18 Apr 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (11)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Diabetes, GestationalStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 3
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Tufts Medical Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Erika Werner, MD, Principal investigator, Tufts Medical Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05280496
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- STUDY00002576
- Status last verified
- Sep 2024
- First submitted
- 3 Mar 2022
- Last updated
- 20 Apr 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- Yes
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Aroda VR, Christophi CA, Edelstein SL, Zhang P, Herman WH, Barrett-Connor E, Delahanty LM, Montez MG, Ackermann RT, Zhuo X, Knowler WC, Ratner RE; Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. The effect of lifestyle intervention and metformin on preventing or delaying diabetes among women with and without gestational diabetes: the Diabetes Prevention Program outcomes study 10-year follow-up. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Apr;100(4):1646-53. doi: 10.1210/jc.2014-3761. Epub 2015 Feb 23.
PubMed 25706240Carter EB, Tuuli MG, Odibo AO, Macones GA, Cahill AG. Prenatal visit utilization and outcomes in pregnant women with type II and gestational diabetes. J Perinatol. 2017 Feb;37(2):122-126. doi: 10.1038/jp.2016.175. Epub 2016 Oct 13.
PubMed 27735930Dinglas C, Muscat J, Heo H, Islam S, Vintzileos A. Immediate Postpartum Glucose Tolerance Testing in Women with Gestational Diabetes: A Pilot Study. Am J Perinatol. 2017 Oct;34(12):1264-1270. doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1606620. Epub 2017 Sep 14. No abstract available.
PubMed 28910846Hedderson MM, Darbinian JA, Ferrara A. Disparities in the risk of gestational diabetes by race-ethnicity and country of birth. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2010 Sep;24(5):441-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3016.2010.01140.x.
PubMed 20670225Moin T, Li J, Duru OK, Ettner S, Turk N, Keckhafer A, Ho S, Mangione CM. Metformin prescription for insured adults with prediabetes from 2010 to 2012: a retrospective cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2015 Apr 21;162(8):542-8. doi: 10.7326/M14-1773.
PubMed 25894024Ratner RE, Christophi CA, Metzger BE, Dabelea D, Bennett PH, Pi-Sunyer X, Fowler S, Kahn SE; Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Prevention of diabetes in women with a history of gestational diabetes: effects of metformin and lifestyle interventions. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Dec;93(12):4774-9. doi: 10.1210/jc.2008-0772. Epub 2008 Sep 30.
PubMed 18826999Werner EF, Has P, Rouse D, Clark MA. Two-day postpartum compared with 4- to 12-week postpartum glucose tolerance testing for women with gestational diabetes. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Sep;223(3):439.e1-439.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.05.036. Epub 2020 May 26.
PubMed 32470456Werner EF, Has P, Kanno L, Sullivan A, Clark MA. Barriers to Postpartum Glucose Testing in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Am J Perinatol. 2019 Jan;36(2):212-218. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1667290. Epub 2018 Jul 30.
PubMed 30060291Werner EF, Has P, Tarabulsi G, Lee J, Satin A. Early Postpartum Glucose Testing in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Am J Perinatol. 2016 Aug;33(10):966-71. doi: 10.1055/s-0036-1583193. Epub 2016 Apr 27.
PubMed 27120481Whelan AR, Ayala NK, Werner EF. Postpartum Use of Weight Loss and Metformin for the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Review of the Evidence. Curr Diab Rep. 2021 Sep 8;21(10):37. doi: 10.1007/s11892-021-01410-7.
PubMed 34495405Bennett WL, Liu SH, Yeh HC, Nicholson WK, Gunderson EP, Lewis CE, Clark JM. Changes in weight and health behaviors after pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus: the CARDIA study. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Jun;21(6):1269-75. doi: 10.1002/oby.20133. Epub 2013 May 13.
PubMed 23666593
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 20 Apr 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Implementation of a Pragmatic Approach to Lower Diabetes Mellitus Risk After a Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05280496
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- STUDY00002576
- Keywords
- gestational diabetes, diabetes risk, medical management, risk prevention, postpartum, diabetes, metformin
- Phase
- Phase 3
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Tufts Medical CenterUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Jun 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Mar 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 18 Apr 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 15 Mar 2022 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study is testing whether daily metformin for 1 year postpartum can reduce risk of diabetes in patients who had gestational diabetes. Typical care for prediabetes after gestational diabetes is counseling on diet and lifestyle. This study is researching whether management of diabetes prevention is more effective with the drug metformin. This study will be conducted at Tufts Medical Center.
Detailed description
Women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) represent a unique population who may benefit from metformin as much as lifestyle intervention; when metformin is prescribed to these women remote from delivery after a diagnosis of prediabetes, it reduces their risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM) by up to 40% over 10 years. However, in the current system in which gestational diabetes diagnosis, prediabetes testing, and metformin prescription are temporally separated by months to years, less than 20% of postpartum women undergo prediabetes testing. When prediabetes is identified in women with a history of GDM, only 7.8% are prescribed metformin.
Given the increasing public health burden of DM, there is an urgent need to remedy this problem and correct this deficiency in health care delivery that allows so many at-risk women to remain unidentified and untreated.
Compelling preliminary data, confirmed at several other sites, indicates that the postpartum glucose tolerance test to identify individuals with prediabetes can be moved from 4-12 weeks postpartum to 1-4 days postpartum, when women are still hospitalized, with test compliance of 92% and no reduction in sensitivity or specificity for prediabetes.
When individuals with a history of GDM and prediabetes are prescribed metformin, they experience a 50% reduction in DM risk and a 3 kg increase in weight loss over three years compared to placebo. If these same benefits are realized when metformin is initiated soon after delivery, then a simple change in postpartum care so that metformin is routinely prescribed at hospital discharge to women with a history of GDM and prediabetes could improve the health of thousands of women annually by decreasing the number of women who develop DM and fail to achieve postpartum weight loss.
Each year in the United States, approximately 280,000 women are diagnosed with GDM. Without intervention, up to 70% of these women will develop diabetes mellitus (DM) over their lifetime, resulting in devastating health consequences and escalating health care costs. However, implementing a postpartum glucose tolerance test and intervening with metformin for those with prediabetes may be a cost-effective change to postpartum care that would result in a profound decrease in DM incidence.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Metformin | Experimental | Drug: MetforminParticipants will be given a daily prescription of metformin for 12 months postpartum. At 12 months and again at 15 months (3 months off the drug), HbA1c and weight will be assessed. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- Female only
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Women currently pregnant with planned delivery at Tufts Medical Center
- Gestational diabetes mellitus diagnosed during pregnancy
- ≥18 years of age
- Opted for the 2 hour 75 gram OGTT during postpartum hospitalization
- Willing and able to sign the informed consent
Key exclusion criteria (10 listed)
- Unable to commit to required study visits for any reason.
- Contraindications to metformin
- Taking metformin outside of pregnancy
- Prescribed medications for chronic disease that affect glucose metabolism (e.g., long term oral steroids).
- Decided against the 2 hour 75 gram OGTT during postpartum hospitalization.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| MetforminMetformin is used to lower blood sugar in patients with high blood sugar (diabetes). | Drug | Metformin |
Primary outcome
HbA1C
Time frame: 12 months
These results will be shared with participants and their providers. Any participants who accepted metformin but do not have diabetes will be asked to stop all study medication and no more study medication will be dispensed.
HbA1C
Time frame: 15 months
At 15 months postpartum, study participants with prediabetes will be seen again for their final study visit. The investigators intend to follow all participants for 3 months after metformin treatment ends for both safety reasons and efficacy reasons. If the metformin was masking diabetes, the investigators want the opportunity to identify those participants and refer them for treatment. Additionally, prior studies have not determined whether the benefits of metformin extend after the medication is discontinued (as indicated by the FDA when the investigators requested to use metformin in the first year postpartum).
2 secondary outcomes
Weight
Time frame: 12 months
Weight
Time frame: 15 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 20 Apr 2025.
- Background: PubMed 25706240Aroda VR, Christophi CA, Edelstein SL, Zhang P, Herman WH, Barrett-Connor E, Delahanty LM, Montez MG, Ackermann RT, Zhuo X, Knowler WC, Ratner RE; Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. The effect of lifestyle intervention and metformin on preventing or delaying diabetes among women with and without gestational diabetes: the Diabetes Prevention Program outcomes study 10-year follow-up. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Apr;100(4):1646-53. doi: 10.1210/jc.2014-3761. Epub 2015 Feb 23.
- Background: PubMed 27735930Carter EB, Tuuli MG, Odibo AO, Macones GA, Cahill AG. Prenatal visit utilization and outcomes in pregnant women with type II and gestational diabetes. J Perinatol. 2017 Feb;37(2):122-126. doi: 10.1038/jp.2016.175. Epub 2016 Oct 13.
- Background: PubMed 28910846Dinglas C, Muscat J, Heo H, Islam S, Vintzileos A. Immediate Postpartum Glucose Tolerance Testing in Women with Gestational Diabetes: A Pilot Study. Am J Perinatol. 2017 Oct;34(12):1264-1270. doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1606620. Epub 2017 Sep 14. No abstract available.
- Background: PubMed 20670225Hedderson MM, Darbinian JA, Ferrara A. Disparities in the risk of gestational diabetes by race-ethnicity and country of birth. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2010 Sep;24(5):441-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3016.2010.01140.x.
- Background: PubMed 25894024Moin T, Li J, Duru OK, Ettner S, Turk N, Keckhafer A, Ho S, Mangione CM. Metformin prescription for insured adults with prediabetes from 2010 to 2012: a retrospective cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2015 Apr 21;162(8):542-8. doi: 10.7326/M14-1773.
- Background: PubMed 18826999Ratner RE, Christophi CA, Metzger BE, Dabelea D, Bennett PH, Pi-Sunyer X, Fowler S, Kahn SE; Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Prevention of diabetes in women with a history of gestational diabetes: effects of metformin and lifestyle interventions. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Dec;93(12):4774-9. doi: 10.1210/jc.2008-0772. Epub 2008 Sep 30.
- Background: PubMed 32470456Werner EF, Has P, Rouse D, Clark MA. Two-day postpartum compared with 4- to 12-week postpartum glucose tolerance testing for women with gestational diabetes. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Sep;223(3):439.e1-439.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.05.036. Epub 2020 May 26.
- Background: PubMed 30060291Werner EF, Has P, Kanno L, Sullivan A, Clark MA. Barriers to Postpartum Glucose Testing in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Am J Perinatol. 2019 Jan;36(2):212-218. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1667290. Epub 2018 Jul 30.
- Background: PubMed 27120481Werner EF, Has P, Tarabulsi G, Lee J, Satin A. Early Postpartum Glucose Testing in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Am J Perinatol. 2016 Aug;33(10):966-71. doi: 10.1055/s-0036-1583193. Epub 2016 Apr 27.
- Background: PubMed 34495405Whelan AR, Ayala NK, Werner EF. Postpartum Use of Weight Loss and Metformin for the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Review of the Evidence. Curr Diab Rep. 2021 Sep 8;21(10):37. doi: 10.1007/s11892-021-01410-7.
- Background: PubMed 23666593Bennett WL, Liu SH, Yeh HC, Nicholson WK, Gunderson EP, Lewis CE, Clark JM. Changes in weight and health behaviors after pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus: the CARDIA study. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Jun;21(6):1269-75. doi: 10.1002/oby.20133. Epub 2013 May 13.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Erika Werner, MD principal investigator
Tufts Medical Center
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 3 study testing Metformin in people with Diabetes, Gestational and PreDiabetes, run by Tufts Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 10 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Apr 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
HbA1C (time frame: 12 months). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05280496, which also lists 11 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 20 Apr 2025.