Question:
From Cleveland, Ohio, USA:
When should a woman diagnosed with gestational diabetes have follow-up testing done to determine if she has adult-onset diabetes? How often should follow-up testing be done? If gestational diabetes had to be controlled with insulin, and could not merely be managed by diet, would the woman be at greater risk for Type 2 diabetes?
Answer:
The current recommendation is to check a fasting blood sugar at 6 weeks to 2 months after delivery. This is about the time of the postpartum visit and therefore is convenient. Testing earlier may result in a false positive result due to lingering effects of the pregnancy. If the fasting blood sugar is greater than 115 mg/dl, then a 2 hour, 75 gram glucose tolerance test test is done. If the GTT test is normal, then follow-up testing should be done on an annual basis. The severity of gestational diabetes may be related to increased risk of developing diabetes later in life.
OWJ
Original posting 8 Dec 1998
Posted to Gestational Diabetes
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