Gestational diabetes mellitus

TLDR

Gestational diabetes mellitus is glucose intolerance first detected during pregnancy, arising from the same physiological and genetic abnormalities as diabetes and placing women at high risk of developing diabetes later. The study aims to use GDM as a model to investigate early diabetes pathogenesis and to develop preventive interventions. GDM is identified by screening pregnant women for risk factors followed by glucose tolerance testing, which often reveals mild, asymptomatic abnormalities.

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as glucose intolerance of various degrees that is first detected during pregnancy. GDM is detected through the screening of pregnant women for clinical risk factors and, among at-risk women, testing for abnormal glucose tolerance that is usually, but not invariably, mild and asymptomatic. GDM appears to result from the same broad spectrum of physiological and genetic abnormalities that characterize diabetes outside of pregnancy. Indeed, women with GDM are at high risk for having or developing diabetes when they are not pregnant. Thus, GDM provides a unique opportunity to study the early pathogenesis of diabetes and to develop interventions to prevent the disease.