ABSTRACTS
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and analyse its risk factors using the International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Groups’ diagnostic criteria.
Method: Pregnant women (n = 650) were selected for our study. The related risk factors of GDM were collected using a questionnaire. The 75 g oral glucose tolerance test was done from the 24th to the 28th week of their gestation. Their blood glucose levels were measured.
Results: The GDM prevalence was 32.8%. Age, pre-pregnancy weight, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain, weight at birth and triglycerides in the GDM group were significantly higher than that of the normal glucose tolerance group (p < 0.05). The correlation analyses revealed that: age, pre-pregnancy weight, weight gain during pregnancy, the weights of the pregnant women at delivery, family history of diabetes, birth times, previous history of adverse pregnancy and hypertriglyceridaemia, were significantly correlated with the development of GDM (p < 0.05). Stratified analyses showed that the prevalence of GDM increased gradually with age and increased pre-pregnancy BMI. The pregnant women with a history of multiple pregnancies and previous adverse pregnancy had a significantly increased risk of developing GDM. The multiple stepwise regression analyses data indicated that prepregnancy weight, weight gain during pregnancy, family history of diabetes, previous adverse pregnancy, and hypertriglyceridaemia were the independent risk factors that contributed to the development of GDM in the pregnant women.
Conclusion: The use of newly defined criteria has increased the apparent prevalence rate of GDM in the pregnant women we studied. Intervention treatment should be administered if the risk factors for GDM are established in order to reduce the incidence of GDM in pregnant women.