title: Gestational diabetes mellitus is rare in primigravida Pakistani women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gestational diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder defined as glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. Similar to other members of the Asian race, Pakistani women are also considered to be at a high risk for developing gestational diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  In order to better understand whether this heightened risk attributed to race really exists, we conducted a prospective study to assess the glycemic status of primigravida women presenting to our hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of 135 subjects enrolled was 22 (16-31), with 21 (16%), 60 (44%), and 54 (40%) subjects in the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy, respectively. The mean fasting, 1-hour, and 2-hour plasma glucose levels were 69.9 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L), 129 mg/dL (7.2 mmol/L), and 103.6 mg/dL (5.76 mmol/L), respectively. Of 135 women, 6 had a blood pressure reading ≥140/90 mm Hg and only one met the criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus. In our study, despite using the newly proposed International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study (IADPS) cut-offs for diagnosis of gestational diabetes, the incidence rate of gestational diabetes mellitus in primigravida was still <1%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Larger trials are needed to truly assess the disease burden of gestational diabetes mellitus in Pakistani women.
authors: Department of Medicine, Jinnah-Allama Iqbal Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology (JAIDE), Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors: Ali
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