Abstract
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common health problem during pregnancy and its prevalence is increasing globally, especially in China. The aim of this study was to investigate socioeconomic, environmental and lifestyle factors associated with GDM in Chinese women. A matched pair case-control study was conducted with 276 GDM women and 276 non-GDM women in two hospitals in Beijing, China. Matched factors include age and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). GDM subjects were defined based on the International Association of Diabetes Study Group criteria for GDM. A conditional logistic regression model with backward stepwise selection was performed to predict the odds ratio (OR) for associated factors of GDM. The analyses of data show that passive smoking at home (OR = 1.52, p = 0.027), passive smoking in the workplace (OR = 1.71, p = 0.01), and family history of diabetes in first degree relatives (OR = 3.07, p = 0.004), were significant factors associated with GDM in Chinese women. These findings may be utilized as suggestions to decrease the incidence of GDM in Chinese women by improving the national tobacco control policy and introducing public health interventions to focus on the social environment of pregnant women in China.
Highlights
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common health problem during pregnancy and its prevalence is increasing globally, especially in China
We found a significant difference in number of women with GDM when comparing women who worked in other types of jobs with housewives (OR = 1.69, p = 0.032)
Comparing the women who resided in Beijing for less than 5 years, those with residency longer than 5 years showed a significant difference associated with GDM (OR = 1.57, p = 0.018)
Summary
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common health problem during pregnancy and its prevalence is increasing globally, especially in China. In the past two decades, China has witnessed rapid lifestyle and socioeconomic changes with increasing westernization, characterized by changes in behaviour including exposure to tobacco smoke, increased alcohol consumption, changes in dietary choices, and physical inactivity[14]. These factors have been implicated in the rapidly increasing prevalence of GDM, which ranges between 6.8% and 10.4% in pregnant women in China[15,16], and even rose to higher levels (19.7%) in Beijing[17]. The study hypotheses are: (1) when compared to pregnant women without GDM, pregnant women who develop gestational diabetes are more likely to be in the lower socioeconomic status (SES) as measured by education, occupation and household income; (2) when compared to pregnant women without GDM, pregnant women who develop GDM are more likely exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), or choose unhealthy lifestyles as measured by tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and diet
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