Uncovering the silent epidemic: Insulin resistance and some associated risk factors among pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a low resource setting

Abstract

The present study sought to identify insulin resistance and related risk factors in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). One hundred and eighty-one pregnant women (34 with GDM and 147 without GDM) participated in the study. GDM screening involved a 75g OGTT test, while a structured questionnaire was used to gather socio-demographics data, and HOMA IR was used to assess insulin resistance. The study identified a 19.2% prevalence of GDM. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the studied risk factors accounted for 94% of GDM development. Additionally, the ROC curve demonstrated the wealth index as a significant factor for GDM development. The study found a high prevalence of GDM among pregnant women in low-resource settings, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to address the elevated occurrence. Socioeconomic factors such as low income and education were found to increase the risk of GDM