Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Assessing the Reliability of Risk Factor-Based Screening in a Rural Nigerian Hospital

Abstract

Implementation of the 2013WHO diagnostic criteria for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), with lower threshold values required for the diagnosis of GDM, may be associated with further rise in the number of missed cases, especially among “low risk women”. This prospective study determined the proportions of women with GDM who were low risk. A hundred and seventeen pregnant women of gestational age 24-32weeks were screened with 50-g glucose challenge Test (GCT) and their GDM risk factor status noted. GCT positive women had 75-gOGTT, using 2013WHO GDM diagnostic criteria. The prevalence of GDM was 7.7% and about 55% of women with GDM had “low risk” status. There was no significant difference in the plasma glucose values of low risk and high risk women. With more than 50% of women with GDM being low risk, risk factor-based screening approach may be very unreliable in screening for GDM.