Prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus, its associated risk factors and pregnancy outcomes at a rural setup in Central India

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is characterised by carbohydrate intolerance of varying severity with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. GDM is an important public health problem in India.Method: The present study was carried out in 300 antenatal women. Fasting blood glucose was measured after which they were given 75 g oral glucose and plasma glucose was estimated at 2 h. Patients with plasma glucose >140 mg/dl were labelled as GDM. Thus WHO criteria were used for diagnosing GDM. Data was collected from all subjects on demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, education level, parity, family history of diabetes and/or hypertension, BMI, etc. and pregnancy outcome was studied.Results: Prevalence of GDM was found to be 8.33%. Gestational diabetes mellitus was found to be significantly associated with age, parity, BMI, socioeconomic status, education level and was also found to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.Conclusion: GDM adversely affects maternal and fetal outcomes and its prevalence is steadily rising. Appropriate interventions are required for its control