Abstract
Objectives Long term follow up women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Design Case–control study. Setting Academic obesity unit. Population Women earlier identified as having gestational diabetes mellitus. Method Twenty-eight women diagnosed with GDM in 1984–1985, and a control group ( n = 52) who gave birth at the same time performed a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test 15 years later. Basic anthropometry and questions about various aspects of eating and exercise habits were furthermore obtained. Results Ten women (35%) in the GDM group were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and none in the control group ( P < 0.001). Mean BMI in the diabetic group was 27.4 kg/m 2 and in the non-diabetic GDM group 24.6 kg/m 2 ( P < 0.05). The mean weight gain since the first child was 8.4 kg in all GDM versus 8.1 kg in controls (ns). The women who developed type 2 diabetes mellitus, however, gained 15.1 kg since the birth of their first child ( P < 0.05). Conclusions Women who are diagnosed with GDM have a considerably higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus later in life. Despite a close medical monitoring during pregnancy, the further follow up within the health care system and information about long term consequences of GDM for later type 2 diabetes mellitus development seems to be generally lacking. More active strategies for future weight control and lifestyle advice after delivery might therefore be indicated for women with GDM.
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