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
Review
. 2024 Dec 18;110(1):e19-e31.
doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgae709.

Gestational Diabetes: An Update 60 Years After O'Sullivan and Mahan

Harold David McIntyre  1 , Ulla Kampmann  2   3 , Tine Dalsgaard Clausen  4   5 , Josephine Laurie  1 , Ronald Ching Wan Ma  6   7   8
Affiliations
Review

Gestational Diabetes: An Update 60 Years After O'Sullivan and Mahan

Harold David McIntyre et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. .

Abstract

Sixty years after the landmark publication by O'Sullivan and Mahan, the current paper seeks to review and place into context the importance of gestational diabetes (GDM) both as a marker of increased risk of adverse maternal and fetal pregnancy outcomes and as an indicator of future maternal and infant health risks. We review the evolution of GDM as a diagnosis, the ongoing debate regarding diagnostic approaches, the underlying pathophysiology, and the epidemiology and the importance of GDM in the context of the global epidemics of diabetes and obesity. Focusing on clinical management, we review lifestyle-based therapy and pharmacotherapy for GDM, consider obstetric management, and outline the short-term and lifelong health risks posed by a GDM diagnosis.

Keywords: diagnosis; epidemiology; gestational diabetes; hyperglycemia; pregnancy; treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Life course view of the impact of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on overall risk of lifetime risk for development of type 2 diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases (NCD). Note multiple potential timepoints for identification of risk and intervention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hadden DR, Hillebrand B. The first recorded case of diabetic pregnancy (Bennewitz HG, 1824, University of Berlin). Diabetologia. 1989;32(8):625. - PubMed
    1. Carrington ER, Shuman CR, Reardon HS. Evaluation of the prediabetic state during pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 1957;9(6):664‐669. - PubMed
    1. O'Sullivan JB. Gestational diabetes. Unsuspected, asymptomatic diabetes in pregnancy. N Engl J Med. 1961;264(21):1082‐1085. - PubMed
    1. O'Sullivan JB, Mahan CM. Criteria for the oral glucose tolerance test in pregnancy. Diabetes. 1964;13:278‐285. - PubMed
    1. McIntyre HD, Fuglsang J, Kampmann U, Knorr S, Ovesen P. Hyperglycemia in pregnancy and women's health in the 21st century. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(24):16827. - PMC - PubMed