Prevalence estimates of diabetes in pregnancy in a rural, sub-Saharan population

AIMS: To determine the prevalence of Hyperglycaemia first Detected in Pregnancy (HDIP) in a cohort of women from rural Gambia and compare the diagnostic ability of capillary blood glucose (CBG) sampling to identify HIP versus laboratory-based analysis of venous plasma glucose (VPG). METHODS: Pregnant women from rural Gambia (N = 251) underwent a 75 g Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) at 28-weeks of gestation. Gestational Diabetes Mellitus was assessed as fasting glucose concentration ≥ 5.1–6.9 mmol/L; ≥10.0 mmol/L at 1-h post load; or ≥ 8.5 mmol/L at 2-h post load and Diabetes in Pregnancy as fasting glucose > 7.0 mmol/L. RESULTS: A total of 199 and 244 women had VPG and CBG measurements respectively, and 198 women had both. 32 women (16.1%) were diagnosed with HDIP using VPG, mostly based on fasting concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of HDIP in rural Gambia was higher than anticipated, emphasising a need for maternal diabetic policy. Based on the current findings, tailored recommendations could include measuring fasting VPG alone when conducting a full OGTT is not feasible. Similarly, CBG may be of value for excluding disease and thereby limiting costly laboratory-based investigations to a select few.