Short stature and gestational diabetes in Brazil. Brazilian Gestational Diabetes Study Group.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between maternal stature and gestational diabetes mellitus.


METHODS
We studied a sample of 5564 consecutive Brazilian women 20 or more years old, who were pregnant for approximately 21-28 weeks, had no history of diabetes outside pregnancy and were attending general prenatal care units in six state capitals in Brazil from 1991 to 1995. We did a 2-h, 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, defining gestational diabetes by World Health Organisation criteria.


RESULTS
Those in the shortest quartile of height (< or = 151 cm) had a 60% increase in the odds of having gestational diabetes, independently of prenatal clinic, age, global obesity, family history of diabetes, skin colour, referral pattern, waist circumference, parity, previous gestational diabetes, education, ambient temperature and gestational age compared with the tallest quartile [odds ratio (OR) = 1.60, p = 0.005]. This association was observed for those with above median values of skinfold thickness (OR = 1.74, p = 0.006) but not for those with below median values (OR = 1.22, p = 0.51). Associations of short stature with high 2-h glycaemia (> or = 7.8 mmol/l) (OR = 1.61, p = 0.005) were essentially the same as those for gestational diabetes. There was, however, no association between short stature and gestational hyperglycaemia when the latter was defined exclusively by fasting values (OR = 0.97, p = 0.90).


CONCLUSIONS
In Brazil short stature associates with gestational diabetes, principally in women with greater fat mass. This difference in glycaemic levels is present postprandially but not in the fasting state.
Branchtein
L
L
School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Schmidt
M I
MI
Matos
M C
MC
Yamashita
T
T
Pousada
J M
JM
Duncan
B B
BB
D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D044469:Racial Groups; D012880:Skin Pigmentation