A study on the prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in rural and urban women of Bangalore, India

Introduction: As India has become diabetic hub of the world, we made an attempt to know the prevalence of GDM at Akash Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre (AIMS & RC), Devanahalli, which is a tertiary care center in rural setup. Materials and methods: 500 antenatal women were included in the study. 75gms OGTT was performed during 24- 28 weeks of pregnancy and results were interpreted according to ADA criteria. Socio demographic features and metabolic characteristics, family h/o DM, GDM hypertension was noted and statistically analyzed. Results: The prevalence of GDM in our study was 8.5%. GDM was statistically significant in high income group, with high BMI and with presence of acanthosis nigricans . Conclusion: Universal screening of all antenatal women is mandatory as prevalence of GDM is increasing in India. Awareness regarding diet like intake of millets, vegetables, fruits high protein diet and physical activity, yoga, exercise needs to be popularized among people through media, NGOs, educational institutions.