Progression from gestational diabetes to type 2 diabetes mellitus: A prospective observational study from a resource constrained country-Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate long-term risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) following a diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to identify associated factors with increased risk of early progression to T2DM.

METHODOLOGY: This study was executed at Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE), Baqai Medical University (BMU) and Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), July 2019- September 2023. All women diagnosed with GDM by OGTT were given adequate follow up for at least 03 years. Details were obtained on pre-designed questionnaire. Follow up about glycemic status was assessed after delivery, at six months, at one year, at two and three years.

RESULTS

Total of 489 women diagnosed with GDM was included, with a mean age of 33.2 ± 7.2 years and a mean BMI of 31.3 ± 6.1 kg/m2. Among these, 43.1 % of the women progressed to T2DM during the study period. Of those, 53.8 % developed T2DM within one year after their GDM diagnosis. Hypertension, urinary tract infections, and jaundice significantly increased the risk. Insulin treatment during pregnancy was found to reduce the odds of developing T2DM, whereas advancing age and pregnancy complications increased the risk.

CONCLUSION

A 43.1 % of the women progressed to T2DM during the study period.