NEW DELHI: A simple act of measuring blood glucose levels just two hours after meals, even from the comfort of one’s home with a glucometer, holds the power to unveil the lurking threat of gestational diabetes among expectant mothers. This was revealed in a study published in the journal Cureus by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Lady Hardinge Medical College and associated hospitals in the city and India.
High blood sugar during pregnancy can lead to various complications, including pregnancy loss, foetal death, macrosomia (baby weight more than 3.5 kg), preterm labour, premature membrane rupture, and extended labour requiring caesarean section. Additionally, babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes face risks of respiratory difficulties, metabolic disorders, birth injuries, and potential mortality.
“Early screening helps to prevent delivery complications and protects children from future health issues through epigenetic modifications. These potential conditions include obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiac problems,” researchers stated.
According to researchers, the economical Postprandial Blood Glucose (PPBG) screening proves more effective than HbA1c (measures the average amount of glucose in your blood over the past two to three months) for identifying gestational diabetes risk, particularly in resource-limited settings. This straightforward method enables monitoring via personal glucose meters at home or with healthcare workers at medical centres. Identified cases can be treated through customised diet and exercise regimens to prevent gestational diabetes and related non-communicable conditions.
As Indians have 11 times higher chances of developing diabetes and the prevalence of diabetes even in pregnancy has been increasing at a rapid rate, national guidelines by MOHFW recommend screening all pregnant women for diabetes during the first visit itself by Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India (DIPSI) test.
Dr Pikee Saxena, Director Professor, Department of Obstetric and Gynaecology, LHMC and Principal Investigator of this study, said that this prospective cohort study enrolled 200 women between eight and 10 weeks of gestation from February 2022 to February 2024. All recruited pregnant women underwent testing for two-hour PPBG at 8-10 weeks and were followed up till delivery. GDM screening was done during 14-16, 24-28, and 32-34 weeks of gestation.
The study found that 95.9% of women with PPBG exceeding 110 mg/dL developed GDM, whilst only 4% with PPBG below 110 mg/dL developed the condition. Women having more than 110 PPBG had a significantly higher BMI and preterm delivery compared to women with less than 110 PPBG. Women with PPBG exceeding 110 mg/dL showed a greater percentage of infants weighing above 3.5 kg at birth, in contrast to those with PPBG below 110 mg.
There exists a common misunderstanding amongst people that a larger baby indicates better health and cuteness. However, in cases of gestational diabetes, elevated maternal blood sugar triggers increased insulin production, resulting in excessive fat accumulation in the baby, leading to an unhealthy increase in size.
