Sociodemographic Correlates of the Increasing Trend in Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in a Large Population of Women Between 1995 and 2005

  1. Vibeke Anna, MIPH1,
  2. Hidde P. van der Ploeg, PHD2,
  3. N. Wah Cheung, PHD3,
  4. Rachel R. Huxley, DPHIL1 and
  5. Adrian E. Bauman, PHD2
  1. 1The George Institute for International Health and School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  2. 2Centre for Physical Activity and Health, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  3. 3Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  1. Corresponding author: Hidde P. van der Ploeg, hiddep{at}health.usyd.edu.au

Abstract

OBJECTIVE—Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an increasingly prevalent risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes in the mother and is responsible for morbidity in the child. To better identify women at risk of developing GDM we examined sociodemographic correlates and changes in the prevalence of GDM among all births between 1995 and 2005 in Australia's largest state.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A computerized database of all births (n = 956,738) between 1995 and 2005 in New South Wales, Australia, was used in a multivariate logistic regression that examined the association between sociodemographic characteristics and the occurrence of GDM.

RESULTS—Between 1995 and 2005, the prevalence of GDM increased by 45%, from 3.0 to 4.4%. Women born in South Asia had the highest adjusted odds ratio (OR) of any region (4.33 [95% CI 4.12–4.55]) relative to women born in Australia. Women living in the three lowest socioeconomic quartiles had higher adjusted ORs for GDM relative to women in the highest quartile (1.54 [1.50–1.59], 1.74 [1.69–1.8], and 1.65 [1.60–1.70] for decreasing socioeconomic status quartiles). Increasing age was strongly associated with GDM, with women aged >40 years having an adjusted OR of 6.13 (95% CI 5.79–6.49) relative to women in their early 20s. Parity was associated with a small reduced risk. There was no association between smoking and GDM.

CONCLUSIONS—Maternal age, socioeconomic position, and ethnicity are important correlates of GDM. Future culturally specific interventions should target prevention of GDM in these high-risk groups.

Footnotes

  • Published ahead of print at http://care.diabetesjournals.org on 22 September 2008.

    Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.

    The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

    • Accepted August 28, 2008.
    • Received June 6, 2008.
« Previous | Next Article »Table of Contents

This Article

  1. Published online before print September 22, 2008, doi: 10.2337/dc08-1038 Diabetes Care December 2008 vol. 31 no. 12 2288-2293
  1. » Abstract
  2. Full Text
  3. Full Text (PDF)
  4. All Versions of this Article:
    1. dc08-1038v1
    2. 31/12/2288 most recent

Current Issue

  1. November 2009, 32 (11)
  1. Current Issue
  1. Alert me to new issues of Diabetes Care