There have been reports of an increase in occurrences of gestational diabetes, but a recent British Columbian research found that advances in screening practices are mostly to blame for the rise.
The study’s results were published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
In Canada, the frequency of gestational diabetes increased across all racial and ethnic groups, rising from 4% of births in 2004 to 7% in 2014. While the exact reasons of the spike are unknown, it has been hypothesized that older mother ages, less activity, and poor nutrition are to blame.
Researchers examined information on more than 550 000 pregnancies in BC between 2005 and 2019 as well as the screening procedure and completion rates. Diagnoses of gestational diabetes increased by a factor of two throughout the research period, from 7.2% to 14.7%.
The scientists discovered that the transition from a 2-step screening technique to a more sensitive 1-step screening approach in gestational diabetes screening practices was substantially responsible for the rise. Throughout the course of the 15-year research period, diagnoses of gestational diabetes rose by less than 25% after adjusting for the rise in screen completion, modifications to screening techniques, and demographic characteristics.
Dr. Elizabeth Nethery, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, and coauthors stated that despite concerns that a higher percentage of pregnant people with high BMIs, older maternal age, or obstetric risk factors were driving higher rates of gestational diabetes, these were not significant contributors to the yearly increase in gestational diabetes in BC.
A gestational diabetes diagnosis has an impact on both the patient and the healthcare system since it necessitates lifestyle adjustments, more doctor visits, and monitoring both during and after pregnancy. As compared to the national incidence of 9.0% for Canada, BC had the highest provincial rate of gestational diabetes in 2017 at 13.9%.
The authors write, “Our research emphasizes the need of obtaining data on screening procedures and completion to better explain the increased prevalence of gestational diabetes found elsewhere.
We need to examine BC’s gestational diabetes regulations since screening modifications alone are responsible for the substantial rise in diagnoses in our jurisdiction. According to Dr. Nethery, the study’s principal author, we must ensure that any rise in diagnoses is indeed advantageous to patients and the healthcare system.