To assess the impact of prepregnancy body mass index (P-BMI) and family history (FH) of diabetes on the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among Bulgarian women. 446 women were tested by 75 g OGTT (WHO 2013 criteria) in a prospective observational study. The prevalence of GDM was calculated in groups with high (≥ 25 kg/m2) and normal P-BMI, positive and negative FH, and in subgroups with different combinations between them. The ORs for GDM were calculated for the factors studied. Descriptive analysis, Student’s t-test, Chi-Square test, binary regression analysis were applied; P < 0.05 indicated significant differences. GDM was present in 7.6% of the women with normal P-BMI, in 39% of the ones with high P-BMI, in 15.1% - if FH was negative and in 39% - if FH was positive. Among women with normal P-BMI the prevalence of GDM was 3.85% if FH was negative and 16.42% - if positive. Among women with high P-BMI, the prevalence of GDM was 27.94% if FH was negative and 56.32% - if positive. The differences between the main groups and the four subgroups were statistically significant. High P-BMI, positive FH and the combination of both increased the risk for GDM 3.7, 2.6 and 5.12 times, respectively. High prepregnancy BMI and FH of diabetes were independent risk factors for GDM in our population. Screening for GDM has to be recommended to all women with either one or both of these risk factors.
Hristova et al. (Thu,) studied this question.