Visual Abstract
Diabetes screening in early pregnancy is recommended by professional organizations, and some of these recommendations are based on the presence of clinical risk factors. We sought to assess the relationship between the number of diabetes risk factors and the prevalence of both GDM and other adverse pregnancy outcomes among a retrospective cohort of overweight and obese women. We collected information on diabetes-associated risk factors including maternal age, race, hypertension, prior GDM, and a first-degree relative with diabetes. Out of 1212 pregnant overweight and obese women, 313 (26%) had zero, 546 (45%) had one, and 353 (29%) had 2 or more risk factors. Women with 2 or more risk factors were more like to be older (p<0.001), obese (p=0.03), have a prior history of GDM (p<0.001), and a first-degree relative with diabetes (p<0.001). A higher number of risk factors was also associated with a higher rate of early GDM (< 24 weeks) (p=0.04) and GDM (p=0.02). However, the number of risk factors was not associated with a higher risk of adverse outcomes including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, large for gestational age, or neonatal morbidity. In overweight and obese women, a higher number of clinical risk factors is associated with an increased risk of GDM throughout pregnancy. Given the higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in overweight and obese women, further studies are needed to develop risk stratification strategies.
M. N. Feghali: None. C. M. Scifres: None.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K23HD092893)
