Study of Serum Ferritin Levels among GDM and Non-GDM Women Referred to Niknafs Hospital for Cesarean Section in Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (2015)

It seems that increased serum ferritin is a potential risk factor for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). This study aimed to study serum ferritin levels among GDM and non-GDM women referred to the Niknafs hospital in Rafsanjan, in 2015.
In this cross-sectional study, 40 GDM and 40 non-GDM women were selected using simple non-probability sampling. Their demographic and clinical data including pre-pregnancy BMI, hemoglobin, fasting blood sugar and iron supplementation intake were recorded from their health dossier. Pre-operation weight was measured and weight gain during pregnancy was calculated. Fasting blood samples were collected and examined for the measurement of glucose, serum ferritin and haemoglobin. All data were analyzed using t-test and chi-square.
Findings showed that there was a statistical significant difference between the means of pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational age at delivery between the two groups (p This study showed that the serum ferritin level in the GDM women was haigher than their non-GDM counterparts, and obese pregnant women were affected more with GDM. It seems that an increase in serum ferritin in GDM women is more a sign of inflammation rather than an increase in the iron storage, since the iron intake in two groups has been equal.