Clinical Medicine Insights: Women's Health

Objective: This study aims to investigate predictive risk factors in the treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Patients and methods: A total of 256 pregnant women who underwent 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) during 24–28 weeks of pregnancy were included according to the World Health Organization criteria. Demographic characteristics of the patients, including age, ­parity, family history of diabetes, body weight before pregnancy, and body weight at the diagnosis of GDM, were recorded. Fasting insulin and ­hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values at the time of diagnosis were evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups: those requiring insulin treatment (insulin group, n = 89) and those receiving diet therapy (diet group, n =167) during pregnancy according to the American Diabetes Association recommendations.

Results: A total of 34.76% of the pregnant women with GDM required insulin treatment. The mean age of these patients was significantly higher compared to the diet group (34.9 ± 0.6 years vs. 31.9 ± 0.6 years; P = 0.004). Body mass index before pregnancy was also significantly higher in the insulin group than that in the diet group (32 ± 0.9 kg/m² vs. 29 ± 0.7 kg/m²; P = 0.004). Fasting blood glucose (FBG) during OGTT was 105.6 ± 2.1 mg/dL and 96.7 ± 1.1 mg/dL in the insulin group and diet group, respectively (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in fasting plasma glucose during OGTT between the groups (P = 0.069), while plasma glucose at two hours was 161.1 ± 6.8 mg/dL in the insulin group and 145.1 ± 3.7 mg/dL in the diet group (P = 0.027). At the time of diagnosis, HbA1c values were significantly higher in the insulin group compared to the diet group (5.3 ± 0.1 vs. 4.9 ± 0.1; P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in FBG and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance values between the groups (P = 0.908, P = 0.073).

Conclusion: Our study results suggest that age, family history of diabetes, body weight before pregnancy, FBG, and HbA1c values are predictors for the necessity of insulin treatment.