title: Height and the risk of gestational diabetes: variations by race/ethnicity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Gestational diabetes is a common pregnancy complication affecting races/ethnicities disproportionally. Adult height, an indicator of both genetic and early-life factors, is inconsistently associated with gestational diabetes risk. We examined the association and whether it varies by races in a nationally representative US cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses were conducted among 135 861 pregnancies in the Consortium on Safe Labor, 5567 of which were diagnosed with gestational diabetes based on medical records review. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of gestational diabetes, controlling for other risk factors including body weight. Additionally, a meta-analysis of 15 761 pregnancies with gestational diabetes and 205 828 without gestational diabetes was conducted to estimate the pooled mean difference in height between those with gestational diabetes and control subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Height was inversely associated with gestational diabetes risk across races/ethnicities, with the strongest association among Asians (P for interaction < 0.01). Comparing extreme quartiles (> 168 vs. < 157 cm), adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 0.18 (0.09-0.36) for Asians/Pacific Islanders, 0.33 (0.29-0.38) for non-Hispanic white women, 0.39 (0.31-0.51) for Hispanics and 0.59 (0.47-0.75) for non-Hispanic black women. Meta-analysis found women with gestational diabetes to be significantly shorter than others.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taller women are at lower risk of developing gestational diabetes, with the magnitude of association varying significantly across races/ethnicities.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Branch, Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Prevention Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD; School of Public Health, City University of New York, New York, NY.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brite
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Shiroma
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bowers
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yeung
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Laughon
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Grewal
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001827:Body Height / Q000208:ethnology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*