[Epidemiological study of gestational diabetes mellitus in Taipei and factors effecting blood glucose].
The prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus has increased significantly in the last decade. Meanwhile, it has been found that patients with gestational diabetes have a greater chance of developing diabetes than normal subjects. This study was designed to survey the prevalence of GDM in metropolitan Taipei. A screening test with 50 g of glucose was performed on pregnant patients between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation, and a blood sample was collected one hour after ingestion. The subjects with a plasma glucose level over 130 g/dL were scheduled for a standard 75 g oral glucose tolerance test for diagnosis. Altogether, 872 pregnant women participated in the study. According to the WHO criteria which were published in 1985, a total of 224 (25.7%) subjects had a positive screening test. Thirty-seven (4.2%) subjects had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and five (0.6%) subjects were found to have GDM after the 75 g OGTT. Comparisons of the glucose levels of women of different ages (< 30 and > or = 30), BMI (< or = 24 and > 24), and parity (0 and > or = 1) demonstrated that women over 30, with a BMI over 24, or a parity over 1 had a significantly higher plasma glucose level than their counterparts in the screening test. Even after BMI-adjustment, the difference was still significant for the age and parity comparisons.