HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS IN GESTATIONAL DIABETES MELLITUS.

Abstract

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as carbohydrate intolerance occurring or detected for the first time during pregnancy.  Hypertension occurring as a result of pregnancy is called pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), which is itself divided into two groups: gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia.  The aim of this study is to compare the incidence of hypertensive disorders in patients with GDM and controls.

Methods: This is a case-control study of 2416 pregnant women attending 5 antenatal clinics attached to Tehran University of Medical Sciences.  The universal two-step screening approach was used: first, all women underwent a 50-gram 1-hour glucose challenge test; second, all women with a 1-hour blood glucose concentration higher than 130mg/dl underwent a 100-gram, 3 hour oral glucose tolerance test.  Carpenter and Coustan's criteria were used to diagnose GDM.  220 women with a normal glucose challenge test were chosen as controls.  GDM cases and controls were matched for age, body mass index, parity, and gestational age.

Results: 114 women overall were diagnosed with GDM.  Mean age, BMI, and parity in GDM and control groups were 29.09±6.13 and 28.64±6.00 years, 27.43±4.33 and 26.64±1.8 kg/m², and 1.79 and 1.52 births, respectively.  Women with GDM had a higher prevalence of essential hypertension, PIH, and pre-eclampsia than matched controls.

Conclusion: Our results show that hypertensive disorders are more common in women with GDM than in normoglycaemic controls of similar age, parity and BMI.