Predictors of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in a High-parity Community in Saudi Arabia

A study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia investigated the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and its predictors in a high-parity group of pregnant women (n = 633, 50.1% grand multiparas). The prevalence of GDM was 12.5% and 3.8% by World Health Organization and American Diabetes Association criteria respectively. Multiparous women were 8.29 times more likely to have GDM than nulliparous women. However, after adjustment for maternal age and history of abortion, nulliparous women were 2.95 times more likely to develop GDM than parous women. The probability of GDM for a parous woman increased from 2% to 21% when age increased from 20 to 40 years. The high rate of GDM among grand multiparas may be due to the confounding effect of maternal age.