Can We Use Waist Circumference in the First Trimester to Screen for Gestational Diabetes

Abstract

Maternal obesity is known to be associated with a higher risk of gestational diabetes mellitus and ad-verse perinatal outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether waist circumference meas-urement is an alternative screening test for gestational diabetes. This is a prospective cohort study at a single clinic at Ondokuz Mayıs University Hospital in Samsun, Turkey, between January 2011 and September 2012. All subjects with a singleton pregnancy were eligible for the study at 11–14 weeks’ gestation. After statistical evaluation of the data we have found out that wider waist circumference measurements in the first trimester leads to an impaired 50 g oral glucose tolerance test in the second trimester. In the end waist circumference measurement is a cheap screening tool to foresee a high-risk population under threat of gestational diabetes. © 2019 OMU