Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan 31;62(4):E885-E891.
doi: 10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2021.62.4.1788. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Prevalence of gestational diabetes and its association with stillbirth, preterm birth, macrosomia, abortion and cesarean delivery: a national prevalence study of 11 provinces in Iran

Mitra Darbandi  1 , Shahab Rezaeian  2   3 , Mostafa Dianatinasab  4 , Halime Yaghoobi  5 , Maryam Soltani  6 , Koorosh Etemad  7 , Tanaz Valadbeigi  8 , Niloufar Taherpour  9 , Mahmoud Hajipour  10 , Reza Saeidi  11
Affiliations

Prevalence of gestational diabetes and its association with stillbirth, preterm birth, macrosomia, abortion and cesarean delivery: a national prevalence study of 11 provinces in Iran

Mitra Darbandi et al. J Prev Med Hyg. .

Abstract

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common metabolic disorders during pregnancy that significantly affects perinatal outcomes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of GDM and its relation with the incidence of stillbirth, preterm birth, macrosomia, abortion and cesarean section (C-section) delivery in pregnant women.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 3675 pregnant women in 11 provinces across Iran. Cluster sampling was used to select samples from mothers covered by health plans in 11 provinces of Iran. Prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm delivery, type of delivery, macrosomic preterm birth, miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death, and birth weight were measured, using family record and face-to-face interviews. Data were analyzed by logistic regression, using STATA14.2 software.

Results: About four percent of Iranian pregnant women had GDM during pregnancy. Prevalence of C-section was significantly higher in diabetic women than in the non-diabetic ones (53.19 vs 46.81, respectively, P < 0.001). Abortion in diabetic mothers was more than twice that of the non-diabetic mothers (P < 0.001). In the adjusted logistic regression model, the odds of stillbirth in mothers with GDM were 1.8 (95% CI: 1.11, 2.91, P = 0.018) times higher than that of the non-diabetics. The odds of macrosomia in diabetic women was about 7 times higher than the non-diabetic women (95% CI: 2.81, 17.14, P < 0.001). The odds of GDM had an increasing trend according to the BMI (p < 0.001). The risk of GDM were significantly lower, according to the daily physical activity (PA) (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The GDM prevalence has a decreasing trend in Iran. It increases the adverse pregnancy outcomes such as stillbirth, neonatal deaths, macrosomia, preterm birth, abortion and C-section delivery. As, some of these consequences like macrosomia are not treatable, thus early prevention is very crucial.

Keywords: Abortion; Gestational diabetes mellitus; Macrosomia; Stillbirth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Prevalence trend of GDM during pregnancy in Iran from 1971 to 2001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Erjavec K, Poljičanin T, Matijević R. Impact of the implementation of new WHO diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus on prevalence and perinatal outcomes: a population-based study. J Pregnancy 2016;2016:2670912. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/2670912 10.1155/2016/2670912 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eades CE, Cameron DM, Evans JM. Prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus in Europe: a meta-analysis. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2017;129:173-81. - PubMed
    1. Mwanri AW, Kinabo J, Ramaiya K, et al. . Gestational diabetes mellitus in sub-Saharan Africa: systematic review and metaregression on prevalence and risk factors. Trop Med Int Health 2015;20:983-1002. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.12521 10.1111/tmi.12521 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alfadhli EM, Osman EN, Basri TH, et al. . Gestational diabetes among Saudi women: prevalence, risk factors and pregnancy outcomes. Ann Saudi Med 2015;35:222-30. https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.2015.222 10.5144/0256-4947.2015.222 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nguyen CL, Pham NM, Binns CW, et al. . Prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus in eastern and southeastern Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Diabetes Res 2018;2018:6536974. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/6536974 10.1155/2018/6536974 - DOI - PMC - PubMed