Objective
To determine the percentage of development of type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to evaluate risk factors associated with increased susceptibility to developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) after GDM.
Patients and methods
A prospective study included 1150 pregnant women not known to have DM before gestation, who presented to GDM outpatient clinic of Assiut University Hospital between the period of May 2016 and May 2017, where 150 women were found to have GDM according Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India criteria.
Results
Based on the result of 75 g oral glucose tolerance test 6–24 weeks after delivery, the study found that 12.7% of women with GDM had T2DM, 21.3% of GDM women had impaired fasting glucose, 13.3% of women with GDM had impaired glucose tolerance, and 52.7% of women with GDM had normal glucose tolerance. The study showed that predictors of the development of T2DM in women with GDM were family history of DM ( = 0.001), insulin therapy during pregnancy ( = 0.001), high glucose level at the time of diagnosis ( = 0.03), previous history of GDM ( = 0.002), and high BMI ( = 0.04).
Conclusion
Postpartum follow-up of patient with GDM is very important for early diagnosis of T2DM and early detection of prediabetic patients to prevent their progression to being diabetic.