Objective: To estimate and report the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in pregnant women of Bandar Abbas, a city in southern Iran.
Methods: From March 2002 to March 2004, 800 pregnant women underwent assessment for GDM in obstetrics clinics in Bandar Abbas. The medical history and risk factors for GDM were recorded, and the weight, height, and blood pressure were measured. All the women were screened for GDM by a 1-hour, 50-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), with a cutoff point of 130 mg/dL. All patients with a "positive" screening test result underwent a 3-hour OGTT with 100 g of glucose.
Results: The prevalence rate of GDM in our study was 6.3% (95% confidence interval, 4.7% to 8.4%) and 8.9% (95% confidence interval, 6.9% to 11.3%) with use of the National Diabetes Data Group and the Carpenter and Coustan criteria, respectively. The patients with GDM were significantly older than the normal group of pregnant women (28.2 +/- 5.6 years versus 24.6 +/- 5.2 years, respectively) (P<0.001). The mean number of pregnancies, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index (BMI) were significantly higher in the GDM group than in the normal pregnant women (P<0.05). Among the recorded risk factors, only age (3)25 years, history of macrosomia in previous newborns, and BMI (3)25 kg/m2 were significantly more prevalent in the GDM group than in the normal group (P<0.05). If selective screening criteria for GDM had been applied, 11.3% of patients with GDM would have been missed.
Conclusion: This study showed a higher prevalence of GDM in Bandar Abbas in comparison with other parts of Iran. Screening for GDM in all pregnant women in Bandar Abbas seems necessary, regardless of the presence of risk factors for GDM.