Diabetes Screening During and After Pregnancy: We Must Do Better

New screening criteria translated to higher rates of gestational diabetes; fewer than 20% of women with gestational diabetes underwent postpartum diabetes testing.

About 10% of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) develop postpartum diabetes; thus, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all women with GDM be tested 6 to 12 weeks postpartum. Investigators used test results from Quest Diagnostics — a large U.S. clinical laboratory that sponsored the study — in 924,873 pregnant women (age range, 25–40) to assess screening rates for and prevalence of GDM and postpartum diabetes.

Rates of GDM screening with oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs; 50-g glucose screen or 75-g or 100-g confirmatory tests) ranged from 71.3% in whites to 77.5% in Asians. Compared with women who weighed 100 to 124 lbs, those who weighed >275 lbs were 348% more likely to test positive for GD…

Reviewing Author

Wendy S. Biggs, MD

Diabetes Screening During and After Pregnancy: We Must Do Better

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