Self-Rated Health and Health Care Use Among Women With Histories of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVE: To examine self-rated health and health care utilization among women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (hGDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of the 2006 National Health Interview Survey of parous women with (n = 370) and without (n = 6,695) hGDM. RESULTS: Women with hGDM reported fair or poor health status and ≥10 office visits in the past year more frequently than women without hGDM. The higher prevalence of obesity in hGDM women accounted for their poorer self-rated health after adjustment for other demographic factors. Whereas the association between hGDM and more frequent office visits was reduced after adjustment for demographic factors including health insurance, hGDM was still associated with a lower odds of contact with a mental health professional. CONCLUSIONS: Because of obesity, women with hGDM have poorer self-rated health than women without hGDM. Contact with mental health providers was reduced compared with women without hGDM.