GDM diagnostic criteria in use in the Mediterranean region

Abstract

PURPOSE: The diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes has been a controversial issue over the last decades but has in the last decade been standardized by the establishment of the IADPSG criteria. In spite of the new guidelines determining diagnostic criteria and management option for pregnant women with diabetes, practice still varies widely. This study aimed to identify the level of clinical practice differences in the Mediterranean region.

METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire study was carried out among a convenient sample of 2841 professionals working in the Mediterranean region. The volunteered responses were collected either in an online survey or as hard copy questionnaires that were eventually transcribed electronically in an excel database.

RESULTS: Only 28.5% of the respondents reported using the IADPSG criteria, the larger majority of these being obstetricians. The majority endocrinologists still preferred and relied on the ADA criteria. Only 22.4% of the respondents reported having adopted the use of oral hypoglycaemics during pregnancy. In contrast, 59.2% have adopted insulin analogues in their practice.