Can maternal abdominal fat thickness predict antenatal insulin therapy in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus?

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness (ASFT) in predicting antenatal insulin therapy (AIT) in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods A prospective study was conducted on patients with regulated blood sugar levels (n = 50) and those with unregulated blood sugar (n = 50) although medical nutrition therapy (MNT) was initiated and then AIT was applied. Using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, appropriate ASFT cut‐off point values were found for the prediction of cases that required AIT after MNT in GDM pregnancies. Results Patients with GDM who needed AIT had a significantly higher ASFT value compared to those with GDM who did not need AIT. The optimal ASFT cutoff was 21.7 mm in predicting cases that required AIT after MNT (sensitivity, specificity, negative, and positive predictive values were 68.0%, 64.0%, 65.8%, and 66.6%, respectively). The risk of AIT increased 3.77‐fold in those with ASFT > 21.7 mm in GDM pregnancies (p = 0.001). Conclusion The ASFT value was significantly higher in cases with GDM, with blood glucose levels not regulated despite MNT and AIT being then needed, compared to patients with blood glucose levels regulated by MNT, and who did not need AIT. Also, patients requiring AIT can be determined with moderate to high sensitivity and specificity using a cut‐off value of ASFT > 21.7 mm. The ASFT > 21.7 mm cut‐off point was seen to be more effective than BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 in the determination of cases where AIT is required.