Prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus and overt diabetes in perganant women in Birjand

Diabetes is the most prevalent medical complication in pregnancy and regarding that the disease is asymptomatic but associated with many complications controlling blood sugar and identifying of gestational diabetes and great care can prevent from harmful complications to affect on the mother and the fetus. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of both gestational and overt diabetes in women who had referred to the health centers of Birjand. This descriptive- analytical study was conducted on the file of 980 cases that had referred to the health centers of Birjand during their parturition period. Sampling was a randomized and classifi8ed one. The necessary information was collected by means of a self-made questionnaire Then the data was analysed by using SPSS software and independent Fisher test and Chi-square and a=0.05 was taken as the significant level. Fifty out of the 980 cases studied (almost 5.1%) suffered from gestational diabetes mellitus and 11 cases of all (almost 1.1%) had overt diabetes. Mean age of the pregnant women and their mean gestation time(s) was 27.6±5.2 and 1.1±1.7, respectively. There was also a significant relationships between BMI index, mean gestational age, having a history of gestational diabetes and familial history of diabetes with gestational diabetes (P<0.001). Regarding the great importance of gestational diabetes and its complications on the fetus, diabetes preventive practices demand special attention to pregnant women. In order to facilitate and increase accuracy in determining gestational diabetes, it is recommended to use the same criteria and to provide a good general education using mass media and educational pamphlets to raise public awareness about the effects of diet and activity on this disease.