Objective: To investigate the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and its determinants among pregnant women in the Tongzhou district of Beijing, China.
Methods: This study was performed on data collected in the routine work of the prenatal health care system from 27,119 pregnant women in the Tongzhou district of Beijing during 2013-2018. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the factors associated with GDM.
Results: The overall prevalence of GDM was 24.24%, and it showed an increasing trend over the 6 years. A univariate analysis showed that the prevalence of GDM increased with age (p < .001). In multivariate analysis, it was found that women with a non-local household registration, as well as those without a local household registration but whose husbands had one, had a lower risk for GDM than both spouses who had local registration. Women who were overweight/obese had a higher risk for GDM than women with a normal pre-pregnancy body mass index. Multipara women had a lower likelihood of developing GDM.
Conclusions: We found a slightly higher prevalence of GDM in the Tongzhou district of Beijing than has been found in other studies, and the prevalence rose over the 6 years of the study. Advanced age, pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity, and local household registration were important risk factors for GDM. Multiparity may be a protective factor against developing GDM. Intensive health education on related determinants should be strengthened for the prevention and control of GDM, especially in high-risk women.
Keywords: Gestational diabetes mellitus; determinants; prevalence.