Abstract
BACKGROUND: GDM is an intermediate phase in a woman's life that certainly poses a high risk of type 2 diabetes. Maternal health affects the health of offspring, a precursor of the vicious cycle of diabetes that continues through generations. Knowing the causative factors of GDM is important to breaking this cycle. OBJECTIVE: To study the risk factors of GDM in Indian women. METHOD: The observational study database records from 2022 to 2023 from 11 different centres across India. We included pregnant women diagnosed with GDM with any OGTT criteria and excluded women with pre-existing diabetes. RESULTS: A total of 431 women with GDM were included in the study. 166 women were diagnosed with GDM in the 3rd trimester, followed by 235 women in the 2nd trimester, and 30 women in the 1st trimester of pregnancy. Those detected with GDM during the 1st trimester had a BMI of 27.9 kg/m2, followed by 28.3 and 29.3 kg/m2 in 3rd trimester. Multigravida showed a positive correlation with a family history of T2D (0.04), previous history of GDM (p-value < 0.001), history of stillbirth (p-value < 0.001) and hypertension (p-value 0.03). CONCLUSION: Pre-pregnancy BMI and women's age at family planning are two important risk factors for the prevention of gestational diabetes.