Research on Increasing prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus in Louisiana Public Hospitals

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common pregnancy complications. Women with GDM are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and type 2 diabetes. Offspring of women with GDM have increased risk of obesity and diabetes in childhood and early adulthood. Recently, an increase in the prevalence of GDM was reported in two states using locally available data. The trend of GDM prevalence in Louisiana, however, has not been investigated. Objective: To analyze the trend of GDM prevalence in Louisiana during 1997 to 2009. Methods: The study population included women who received medical care from Louisiana public hospitals. Total of 140,600 pregnancies were recorded between 1997 and 2009. The GDM cases were identified by using the ICD-9 code (648.8) from the LSU public hospital's data warehouse. The annual prevalence of GDM and their 95% conference intervals were calculated and stratified by age groups. Results: During the study period, the average annual prevalence of GDM is 3.3% among Louisiana women. The prevalence of GDM increased from 2.6% in 1997 to 4.2% in 2009 (increased by 62%). In 2009, the prevalence of GDM was the highest among women aged 35-40 years (10.0%) and lowest among women aged younger than 25 years (1.9%). The prevalence was 6.6% in oldest women aged 40+ years. Conclusions: The annual prevalence of GDM is increasing in Louisiana. GDM has become an important public health problem, particularly among women aged 35-40 years. Coordinated efforts are needed to alter these trends in GDM.