Aim: To assess changes in the prevalence and risk factors of diabetes in pregnant women from 2011 to 2017.
Methods: In this retrospective study using women’s records from ObstetriX, data from 38,851 pregnant women who attended Westmead Hospital (2011-2017) were considered for evaluation. The data were transferred from ObstetriX into an Excel datasheet. After cleaning, formatting and coding the data, they were entered into SPSS for statistical analysis. Incomplete or out of range records were excluded from the study.
Results: Out of 38,851 pregnant women, 4,672 (12%) had gestational diabetes and 462 (1.2%) had pre-existing diabetes. Assessment of the trend of diabetes in the general population of pregnant women showed a steady increase in gestational diabetes (5%) and an increase of 1% in pre-existing diabetes from 2011 to 2017.
Among pregnant women with diabetes during pregnancy (n=5,134), there were increases in the prevalence of endocrine diseases (by 6%), multiparty (by 5%) and Body Mass Index>35 (by 5%) from 2011 to 2017 (p<0.05).
Despite increases in the prevalence of renal diseases (3%), overseas-born women (2%) and auto-immune diseases (1%) from 2011 to 2017 and a decrease in the prevalence of neurological diseases (1%) among pregnant women with diabetes, changes in the trends were not significant (p>0.05).
After regression analysis adjusting for baseline characteristics, hypertension and endocrine diseases were shown to be significant risk factors for diabetes during pregnancy. The odds of diabetes during pregnancy in women with hypertension increased from 1.86 (95% CI=1.37-2.52) in 2011 to 1.90 (95% CI=1.43-2.53) in 2017. On the other hand, the odds of diabetes during pregnancy in women with endocrine diseases decreased from 1.67 (95% CI=1.32-2.12) in 2013 to 1.28 (95% CI=1.03-1.59) in 2017 (the odds for endocrine diseases were not significant in 2011 and 2012; p>0.05).
Conclusions: The prevalence of diabetes among pregnant women has increased from 2011 to 2017 and the odds are higher in women with endocrine diseases and hypertension during pregnancy.