A study of the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus and its maternal and fetal outcomes in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to study the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) using Diabetes in Pregnancy Study group India (DIPSI) criteria to diagnose patients with GDM and to study the maternal and neonatal outcomes.Methods: 500 patients attending the antenatal clinic between January 2013 to September 2014 with singleton pregnancies between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation were evaluated by administering 75g glucose in a nonfasting state and diagnosing GDM if the 2-hour plasma glucose was more than 140 mg/ dl. Women with multiple pregnancies, pre-existing diabetes mellitus, cardiac or renal disease were excluded from the study.Results: 31 women were diagnosed with GDM (prevalence 6.2%). The prevalence of risk factors such as age more than 25, obesity, family history of Diabetes Mellitus, history of GDM or birth weight more than 4.5kg in previous pregnancy and history of perinatal loss were associated with a statistically significant risk of developing GDM. Though the incidence of Gestational hypertension, polyhydramnios and postpartum haemorrhage was higher in the GDM group, it did not reach statistical significance. More women in the GDM group were delivered by LSCS. There was no significant difference in the incidence of SGA or preterm delivery in the groups. The mean birth weight in GDM group was higher than in the non GDM group.Conclusions: Early detection helps in preventing both maternal and fetal complications. This method of screening is convenient to women as it does not require them to be fasting.