Can a First-Trimester blood test catch pregnancy diabetes sooner?
NCT ID NCT05388643
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether screening for gestational diabetes in the first trimester (instead of the usual third trimester) can detect the condition earlier in high-risk pregnancies. Researchers will use a combination of risk factors and blood markers to predict GDM. The goal is to see if this early screening is practical and acceptable for pregnant women.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Enhanced first-trimester glucose screening with a prediction model using clinical risk factors and blood biomarkers (triglycerides, PAPP-A, lipocalin-2)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to earlier detection and management of gestational diabetes, potentially reducing complications for mothers and babies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early feasibility study (80 participants), so results may not apply broadly. The screening test may not accurately predict GDM, leading to false positives or negatives.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 80 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * 1\) age greater than or equal to 18 years old, * 2\) singleton gestation less than or equal to 12 weeks at initial obstetric visit, * 3\) receiving prenatal care at UMMHC and plans to deliver at UMMHC, * 4\) able and willing to provide informed consent, * 5\) English or Spanish speaking, and * 6\) are at high risk for developing GDM by ACOG clinical risk factor guidelines. Exclusion Criteria: * 1\) known diagnosis of pre-existing pregestational diabetes, * 2\) plan to receive prenatal care or deliver outside of UMMHC, * 3\) inability to complete oral glucose tolerance test (e.g. gastric bypass surgery history, gastric dumping syndrome history, vomiting of oral glucose tolerance test), or * 4\) systemic steroid use.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center
RECRUITINGWorcester, Massachusetts, 01605, United States
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