To define the recurrence rate of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a subsequent pregnancy and to determine what factors could be predictive.
The subjects of the index pregnancy were 480 personally cared for women with GDM. One hundred women had had a subsequent pregnancy and had been tested for GDM.
The recurrence rate of GDM was 35% (95% CI, 25.5–44.5). An increase in weight between the two pregnancies and a higher maternal age and parity were risk associates for a recurrence. A recurrence of GDM was not associated with a higher glucose level, insulin use, or fetal birth weight in the index pregnancy.
GDM occurs in only one-third of subsequent pregnancies. Those women who had a recurrence of their GDM were older, more parous, and also had an increase in weight between the pregnancies.
