Screening adolescent gravidas for gestational diabetes

Study Objective: To assess the value of screening pregnant adolescents for gestational diabetes.

Design: Pregnant adolescents who attended the Teen Pregnancy Clinic at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville were screened for gestational diabetes at 28.5 ± 2.5 weeks gestation using the 50-g, 1-hour glucose test. Those whose screening test result was ≥ 140 mg/dl underwent a 100-g, 3-hour glucose tolerance test. Demographic and perinatal data, including prepregnancy weight, weight gain, social habits, mode of delivery, birth weight, and neonatal complications were recorded.

Results: Of 437 women screened, 18 (4%) had abnormal results. All 18 underwent a 100-g, 3-hour glucose tolerance test, and none was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. There were no significant differences in the average screening test results among different age groups.

Conclusion: The low incidence of gestational diabetes in this population suggests that the likelihood of developing this disorder is significantly less for pregnant adolescents than for older gravidas. It may be more cost-effective to reserve diabetes screening for adolescent gravidas who have risk factors.