Prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus and its determinants among pregnant women in Beijing

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and its determinants among pregnant women in the Tongzhou district of Beijing, China. Methods: This study was performed on data collected in the routine work of the prenatal health care system from 27,119 pregnant women in the Tongzhou district of Beijing during 2013-2018. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the factors associated with GDM. Results: The overall prevalence of GDM was 24.24%, and it showed an increasing trend over the 6 years. A univariate analysis showed that the prevalence of GDM increased with age (p < .001). In multivariate analysis, it was found that women with a non-local household registration, as well as those without a local household registration but whose husbands had one, had a lower risk for GDM than both spouses who had local registration. Women who were overweight/obese had a higher risk for GDM than women with a normal pre-pregnancy body mass index. Multipara women had a lower likelihood of developing GDM. Conclusions: We found a slightly higher prevalence of GDM in the Tongzhou district of Beijing than has been found in other studies, and the prevalence rose over the 6 years of the study. Advanced age, pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity, and local household registration were important risk factors for GDM. Multiparity may be a protective factor against developing GDM. Intensive health education on related determinants should be strengthened for the prevention and control of GDM, especially in high-risk women.

Automated summary

This study investigates the prevalence and determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among pregnant women in the Tongzhou district of Beijing, China. The results show that the prevalence of GDM increases with age, pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity, and lack of local household registration. However, multiparity may act as a protective factor against GDM.