High Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Rural Tanzania—Diagnosis Mainly Based on Fasting Blood Glucose from Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

Louise Groth Grunnet, Line Hjort, Daniel Thomas Minja, Omari Abdul Msemo, Sofie Lykke Møller, Rashmi B. Prasad, Leif Groop, John Lusingu, Birgitte Bruun Nielsen, Christentze Schmiegelow, Ib Christian Bygbjerg and Dirk Lund Christensen
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Louise Groth Grunnet: Diabetes and Bone-Metabolic Research Unit, Department of Endocrinology, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Line Hjort: Diabetes and Bone-Metabolic Research Unit, Department of Endocrinology, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Daniel Thomas Minja: National Institute for Medical Research, Tanga Center, Tanga 5004, Tanzania
Omari Abdul Msemo: National Institute for Medical Research, Tanga Center, Tanga 5004, Tanzania
Sofie Lykke Møller: Section of Global Health, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 1422 Copenhagen, Denmark
Rashmi B. Prasad: Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, 22100 Malmø, Sweden
Leif Groop: Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, 22100 Malmø, Sweden
John Lusingu: National Institute for Medical Research, Tanga Center, Tanga 5004, Tanzania
Birgitte Bruun Nielsen: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aarhus University Hospital, N 8200 Aarhus, Denmark
Christentze Schmiegelow: Centre for Medical Parasitology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, N 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
Ib Christian Bygbjerg: Section of Global Health, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 1422 Copenhagen, Denmark
Dirk Lund Christensen: Section of Global Health, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 1422 Copenhagen, Denmark

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-11

Abstract: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes and increased long-term risk of metabolic diseases for both mother and child. In Tanzania, GDM prevalence increased from 0% in 1991 to 19.5% in 2016. Anaemia has been proposed to precipitate the pathogenesis of GDM. We aimed to examine the prevalence of GDM in a rural area of Tanzania with a high prevalence of anaemia and to examine a potential association between haemoglobin concentration and blood glucose during pregnancy. The participants were included in a population-based preconception, pregnancy and birth cohort study. In total, 538 women were followed during pregnancy and scheduled for an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at week 32–34 of gestation. Gestational diabetes mellitus was diagnosed according to the WHO 2013 guidelines. Out of 392 women screened, 39% (95% CI: 34.2–44.1) had GDM, the majority of whom (94.1%) were diagnosed based solely on the fasting blood sample from the OGTT. No associations were observed between haemoglobin or ferritin and glucose measurements during pregnancy. A very high prevalence of GDM was found in rural Tanzania. In view of the laborious, costly and inconvenient OGTT, alternative methods such as fasting blood glucose should be considered when screening for GDM in low- and middle-income countries.

Keywords: prevalence; gestational diabetes; Tanzania; haemoglobin concentration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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