High fasting plasma glucose in early pregnancy and postpartum diabetes in Chinese women with gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) confers substantial short- and long-term metabolic complications for mothers and offspring. Whether GDM should be screened for and managed in early pregnancy remains debated, and the standardized definition and optimal screening window for Chinese women remain controversial. In a prospective cohort from Tianjin, China, we previously found that elevated fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in early pregnancy was associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in a gestational age-dependent manner(1). Using postpartum follow-up data from this cohort, the present study aimed to examine the association between FPG in early pregnancy and postpartum diabetes among women with GDM, and to determine which diagnostic threshold and gestational window most effectively capture this long-term risk, thereby informing early risk stratification.