Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Among Women Accessing Antenatal Care at The Federal Medical Centre Ebute Metta, Southwestern Nigeria

Background: the study aimed to assess the prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) among pregnant women at the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta (FMCEB), Lagos State, Nigeria. Materials and methods: this is a retrospective study of GDM cases at the FMCEB Lagos. Two hundred and thirty-four (234) pregnant women at 24 weeks of gestation and above were screened for GDM between the periods of November 2018 to November 2019. During Antenatal clinics, all pregnant women at 24 weeks of gestation and above who were considered to be at risk after undergoing preliminary clinical examination were given a 75g oral glucose load, using the World Health Organization standardized oral glucose tolerance test. GDM was diagnosed if 2 hours of plasma glucose was ≥140 mg/dl. Results: the prevalence of GDM among expectant mothers was 44 (18.8%) and the mean age of women with GDM was 34.5±7.3 years while the age ranged between 20 to 50 years. The age group of 35-39 years old had the highest prevalence of GDM among the studied patients. Specifically, 31.8% (14 out of a total unknown number) of GDM patients belonged to this age group. In contrast, only 2.3% of the subjects were 50 years old, which suggests a significantly lower prevalence of GDM in this age group. Conclusion: the high prevalence of GDM reported in this study highlights the need for increased screening and management of GDM in Nigeria. Further research is needed to develop standardized protocols for the screening and management of GDM in Nigeria, particularly in resource-limited settings.