BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been as sociated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes that extend beyond the postpartum period. Knowledge of its prevalence and risk factors can lead to possible preventive strategies.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for GDM at the University of Santo Tomas Hospital-Clinical Division (USTH-CD).
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed between January to December 2009 at the USTH-CD. Simple and multivariate logistic regressions were used to estimate the odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals, and to control for confounding variables.
RESULTS: We reported the prevalence of GDM at USTH-CD to be 7.5%. The risk for GDM was significantly associated with increasing BMI (OR 1.54; 95% CI 1.06, 2.24), family history of diabetes (OR 6.27; 95% CI 2.63, 14.96) and hormonal contraceptive use (OR 8.48; 1.55, 46.52). Mothers with GDM were also at increased risk of delivering via cesarean section (OR 2.76; 95% CI 1.13, 6.72). The 1-minute APGAR score of infants born to mothers with GDM were also lower (OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.12, 0.83).
CONCLUSION: Higher BMI, family history of diabetes and hormonal contraceptive use were strongly associated with GDM. Presence of GDM increases the risk of having cesarean deliveries and a poor fetal 1-minute APGAR score. The presence of these findings may be helpful in identifying those at risk for GDM who might benefit from heightened surveillance during pregnancy.