Increasing prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus in Chinese women from 1999 to 2008

Diabet. Med. 28, 652–657 (2011) Aims To investigate the trend in the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus during 1999–2008 in women living in urban Tianjin, China. Methods A universal screening for gestational diabetes mellitus has become an integral part of the antenatal care in Tianjin, China from 1998. A total of 105 473 pregnant women living in the six urban districts of Tianjin, China, participated in the gestational diabetes mellitus screening programme between December 1998 and December 2008. The screening test consisted of a 50‐g 1‐h glucose test. Women who had a glucose reading ≥ 7.8 mmol/l at the initial screening were invited to undergo the standard 2‐h oral glucose tolerance test with a 75‐g glucose load. Gestational diabetes mellitus was confirmed using the World Health Organization’s diagnostic criteria. Results The adjusted prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus increased by 2.8 times during 1999–2008, from 2.4 to 6.8% (P