Characteristics of Women With Gestational Diabetes From Non-Caucasian Compared With Caucasian Ethnic Groups

Short- and long-term outcomes in women after gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) vary by ethnicity. Understanding differences in baseline diabetes risk factors is important for informing choice of risk-reducing interventions. We aimed to compare maternal and pregnancy-related characteristics in Caucasian and non-Caucasian women with GDM.

Using a large multicentre Canadian cohort of women diagnosed with GDM and recruited between 2009 and 2013, we compared demographic, clinical and behavioural characteristics in women with GDM across 7 ethnic groups. Data were obtained from chart reviews and surveys, and logistic and linear regression models were used to compare binary and continuous variables, respectively, between Caucasian and non-Caucasian ethnic groups.

Of the 1,332 women with GDM, 911 were eligible for inclusion. Of these, 41.4% were white Caucasian, 17.1% were South Asian, 18.4% were East Asian, 5.8% were black, 8.8% were Filipina, 5.2% were Middle Eastern and 3.3% were Hispanic. Non-Caucasian women were diagnosed with GDM at a younger age and were more likely to have a family history of diabetes compared with Caucasian women. With the exception of East Asians, non-Caucasian women were more likely to be overweight using ethnicity-specific body mass index cutoffs and have higher oral glucose tolerance test values than Caucasian women. Prepregnancy smoking and alcohol consumption prevalence were highest in Caucasian women.

Several important ethnicity-specific differences in clinical and behavioural characteristics of women with GDM were identified. These differences need to be considered when offering interventions for reducing risk of adverse perinatal outcomes and subsequent type 2 diabetes.