Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess trends in diabetes in pregnancy in American Indian and whites mothers in Montana and North Dakota.
Methods: Montana and North Dakota birth records were utilized to assess trends in any diabetes in pregnancy in American Indians and whites from 1989 to 2000.
Results: From 1989 through 2000, there were 133,991 and 102,232 births in Montana and North Dakota, respectively. The majority of mothers were American Indian (11%) or white (87%). The rate of any diabetes in pregnancy increased significantly in Montana Indian (3.1-4.1%, p = 0.04) and white mothers (1.8-2.6%, p < 0.001) from 1989-1991 to 1998-2000. The rate also increased significantly in white North Dakota mothers (1.6-3.2%, p < 0.001), but the increase in rate for Indian mothers in North Dakota did not reach statistical significance (3.8-4.8%, p = 0.06) during this time period. In each time period, Montana and North Dakota Indian mothers were more likely than white mothers to have any diabetes in pregnancy.
Conclusions: The rate of diabetes in pregnancy has increased in American Indian and white mothers. Thus public health programs are now facing an increasing number of women with a history of GDM at future risk of type 2 diabetes and an increasing number of offspring of diabetic pregnancies at risk for becoming overweight and developing type 2 diabetes at a young age.