Prevalence of gestational diabetes in a group of women receiving treatment at the Mexican Institute of Social Security in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

The objective of this work was to determine the prevalence and associated clinical variables of gestational diabetes in a group of pregnant women, using a prospective, longitudinal and comparative study. The setting where the study was performed was an urban General Hospital, and outpatient clinics of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Aguascalientes City, Mexico. The subjects were 187 pregnant women receiving prenatal care in two health care outpatient clinics where they had given informed consent for a 1-year period. All selected women without a history of diabetes mellitus were studied and scheduled for a full oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) performed at 24-28 weeks of gestation. Gestational diabetes was diagnosed according to the American Diabetes Association. Results are shown for comparative purposes in three groups: 167 women with normal OGTT, 7 women with one OGTT abnormal value, and 13 women with OGTT criteria for gestational diabetes. The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board. We found a prevalence of 6.9% of gestational diabetes in our study group, and significant differences (p < 0.05) among parity, fasting blood glucose, macrosomy, family history of diabetes, obesity of 90 kg or more, and age > 35 years. Body mass index mean was over 25 kg/m2 in all groups. The 6.9% prevalence of gestational diabetes we found is higher than data between 3.9 and 6% previously reported in Mexico. This could reflect a selection bias of our sample; however, it represents a serious public health problem. Appropriate screening, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment must be implemented.