Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 26;43(5):763-793.
doi: 10.1210/endrev/bnac003.

A Clinical Update on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Arianne Sweeting  1   2 , Jencia Wong  1   2 , Helen R Murphy  3   4   5 , Glynis P Ross  1   2
Affiliations

A Clinical Update on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Arianne Sweeting et al. Endocr Rev. .

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) traditionally refers to abnormal glucose tolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. GDM has long been associated with obstetric and neonatal complications primarily relating to higher infant birthweight and is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for future maternal and offspring cardiometabolic disease. The prevalence of GDM continues to rise internationally due to epidemiological factors including the increase in background rates of obesity in women of reproductive age and rising maternal age and the implementation of the revised International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups' criteria and diagnostic procedures for GDM. The current lack of international consensus for the diagnosis of GDM reflects its complex historical evolution and pragmatic antenatal resource considerations given GDM is now 1 of the most common complications of pregnancy. Regardless, the contemporary clinical approach to GDM should be informed not only by its short-term complications but also by its longer term prognosis. Recent data demonstrate the effect of early in utero exposure to maternal hyperglycemia, with evidence for fetal overgrowth present prior to the traditional diagnosis of GDM from 24 weeks' gestation, as well as the durable adverse impact of maternal hyperglycemia on child and adolescent metabolism. The major contribution of GDM to the global epidemic of intergenerational cardiometabolic disease highlights the importance of identifying GDM as an early risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, broadening the prevailing clinical approach to address longer term maternal and offspring complications following a diagnosis of GDM.

Keywords: COVID; biomarkers; diabetes prevention; diagnosis; genetics; gestational diabetes mellitus; management; outcomes; pathophysiology; precision medicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart summarizing the contemporary nomenclature for hyperglycemia in pregnancy.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Perinatal consequences of gestational diabetes mellitus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Bennewitz H. De Diabete Mellito, Gravidatatis Symptomate. MD thesis, University of Berlin; 1824.
    1. Barker DJP. Mothers Babies and Diseases in Later Life. BMJ; 1994.
    1. Duncan J. On puerperal diabetes. Trans Obstet Soc Lond. 1882;24:256-285.
    1. Miller HC. The effect of diabetic and prediabetic pregnancies on the fetus and newborn infant. J Pediatr. 1946;29(4):455-461. - PubMed
    1. Williams J. The clinical significance of glycosuria in pregnant women. Am J Med Sci. 1909;137:1-26.

Publication types

-