The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Claes Ignell

Gestational diabetes mellitus, prevalence in southern Sweden and risk factors for subsequent diabetes

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with risks during pregnancy, during delivery, and in later life with a substantial risk of subsequent diabetes. The worldwide prevalence of GDM is increasing, but varies with differences in diagnostic methods and population characteristics.

Results: Capillary glucose concentrations were found to be higher than venous glucose concentrations during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) after pregnancy (n = 55). Equivalence values for capillary glucose concentrations tended to be higher than those proposed by the WHO, but diagnostic disagreements mainly occurred close to the diagnostic cut-off limits.

In southern Sweden, defining GDM as a 2-h capillary plasma glucose concentration of ≥ 10.0 mmol/L during a universal 75-g OGTT, there was a 35% increase in GDM prevalence (p < 0.001) from 2003 (1.9%) to 2012 (2.6%) when assessed in a log-linear Poisson model during a period with stable diagnostic procedures.

1–2 years after pregnancy with GDM (n = 456), the increased frequency of diabetes in non-European women (17% vs. 4% in European women, p < 0.001) was associated with increased insulin resistance―related to higher body mass index (BMI) in Arab women, and higher insulin resistance relative to BMI in Asian women.

In logistic regression analysis, diabetes 5 years after GDM was associated with higher BMI at follow-up, non-European ethnicity, and higher OGTT 2-h glucose concentration in pregnancy (p < 0.0001). A prediction model based on these variables resulting in 86% correct classifications (n = 200), with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.91 (95% CI 0.86–0.95), was used in a function-sheet line diagram illustrating the individual effect of weight on diabetes risk.

Conclusions: Interconversion of results from capillary sampling and venous sampling is associated with uncertainty, but it may be suitable when translating results on a group basis. The prevalence of GDM in southern Sweden was 2.6% in 2012, with an upward trend. In women with GDM, insulin resistance was associated with subsequent diabetes, predicted by BMI, non-European ethnicity, and glucose tolerance during pregnancy.

More information