Diagnóstico laboratorial e prevalência de eventos hiperglicemiantes em gestantes atendidas em um hospital público na cidade do Rio de Janeiro: um estudo observacional retrospectivo

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is characterized by hyperglycemia during pregnancy. Objective: This study describes the prevalence of GDM in pregnant women assisted at a public hospital in the city of Rio de Janeiro with diagnosis based on fasting blood glucose (FG) and Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) values. The associations between GDM and the presence of hypertension and hypothyroidism were also evaluated and described. Methods: This is a cross-sectional and retrospective observational study based on electronic medical record data from 699 pregnant women seen from June/2018 to June/2019. Results: The overall prevalence of GDM was 17.7%, with 7.3% classified by GJ (between 92 and 126 mg/dL) in the first trimester of pregnancy. In the second trimester of pregnancy, the classification criteria are based on the OGTT. Thus, 62.9% of pregnant women were classified as having GDM at the first point of the glycemic curve, that is, FG ≥92 mg/dL (before glucose load); 16.1% were classified by the second point of the glycemic curve (1st hour ≥180 mg/dL after glucose load), and 13.7% were classified by the glycemia value at the third point of the curve (2nd hour ≥153 mg/dL). An association was observed between the occurrence of GDM and older age, as well as a greater number of previous pregnancies. Among comorbidities, an association was observed between GDM and hypertension. Conclusion: Therefore, as a laboratory criterion for classifying pregnant women with GDM, the GJ and OGTT are efficient, as, together, they allow the detection of a greater number of pregnant women with GDM.