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Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) can be defined as a carbohydrate intolerance of variable severity with onset or first recognition during pregnancy (American Diabetes Association, 2002; Metzger et al., 1998; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee, 2001; Reece et al., 2002).
This disease is the most common metabolic complication in pregnancy: its prevalence, in the world, is highly variable and depends on the diagnostic criteria used (King, 1998; Ben-Haroush et al., 2004), age of pregnant women, and the possible presence of risk factors before pregnancy.
In the last two decades, the prevalence of GDM has increased significantly (Dabelea et al., 2005; Ferrara, 2007), especially in developing countries and in immigrant populations coming from underdeveloped countries, with a doubling of the incidence rates in all ethnic groups, due to an increase in the sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and the average age of pregnant women (Singh & Rastogi, 2008; Pan et al., 1997).
The GDM is related to an increase in obstetric complications due to excessive fetal growth, such as macrosomia, shoulder dystocia, premature births, and an increased rate of Cesarean sections (Casey et al., 1997; Sendag et al., 2001; Fadl et al., 2010). In addition, this pathology puts women with previous gestational diabetes at high risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and other metabolic alterations, after a few months (Kjos et al., 1990) or a few years (Jovanovic & Pettitt, 2001; Kim et al., 2002; Ratner, 2007).
In this study, we determined the prevalence of GDM in a cohort of pregnant women, already screened by gynecologists and, therefore, with the indication to perform an OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test). The aim was to investigate the prevalence of risk factors predisposing to this disease and to understand how these factors affect the onset of the disease. In particular, we evaluated the contribution of the following risk factors: age, Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in first degree relatives, smoking, diet, macrosomia in previous pregnancies, pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI) and physical activity. Our results could be useful to identify the risk factors on which prevention programs promotion can be based.