Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM ) is a disease that appears during pregnancy due to an insulin resistance. GDM is associated with increased risks for complications both to the mother and the child during pregnancy. These risks include conditions such as neonatal macrosomi and hypoglycemia for the child. This leads to increased risk for cesarean section and birth injuries. GDM can be treated with a changed diet supported with exercise. If the blood glucose levels still remain high, insulin or metformin medication can be introduced to treat the patient. Metformin is a safe and effective anti-diabetic drug and it is used as a treatment for GDM. Since the treatment during GDM varies, the effect of insulin versus metformin was examined. The aim of this litterature study was to compare the treatment with metformin versus insulin and to investigate the differences between the two drugs in the treatment of GDM. The medical databases PubMed and Google Scholar were used to search for clinical studies that compare the effects of the two treatments. Four studies were selected for this litterature study. The results in this study indicated that both insulin and metformin are effective as glucose lowering drugs in the treatment of GDM. All patients do not respond to metformin and therefore insulin may be preferable in the treatment of some patient. Both insulin and metformin lead to better glycemic control in GDM patients. Both drugs are safe and effective but metformin has several advantages. The cost is low, it is easier to use and leads to fewer cases of hypoglycemia compared to insulin, even though all patients do not respond to metformin, it is considered a good alternative.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-104187 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Hasanovic, Selma |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kemi och biomedicin (KOB) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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