DIABETES IN PREGNANCY IN PAKISTANI WOMEN - PREVALENCE AND COMPLICATIONS IN AN INDIGENOUS SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and complication s as well as to correlate maternal and fetal outcome with glycaemic co ntrol, in a community of Pakistani women. This was a retrospective stu dy of 6830 deliveries over a 5-year period in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi. Either a 75 g glucose tolerance test or a screening 50 g glucose challenge was administered depending on risk factors for Gesta tional Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). Case records of deliveries during this period were analysed for presence of GDM or pre-existing diabetes; gl ycaemic control and complications were ascertained for those with diab etes. During this period 267 (3.9 %) of the 6830 deliveries were ident ified as diabetic pregnancies. Of these 223 (3.3 %) had GDM and 44 (0. 6 %) women had pre-existing diabetes mellitus. Overall maternal compli cations were high; pre-eclampsia (19 %), polyhydramnios (4.6 %), and t hreatened abortion (3.4 %). Fetal complications of macrosomia (13.1 %) , intrauterine growth retardation (7.1 %), intrauterine deaths (5.3 %) were noted. Complications were higher in poorly controlled groups. We conclude that the prevalence of GDM in Pakistani women in our study w as comparable to their Western counterparts but complication rates wer e higher, possibly due to poorer glycaemic control.