Racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus and maternal overweight and obesity, by Nativity, Florida, 2004‐2007

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. E33 - E40
• Main Authors: Kim, Shin Y., Sappenfield, William, Sharma, Andrea J., Wilson, Hoyt G., Bish, Connie L., Salihu, Hamisu M., England, Lucinda J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2013; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Acculturation; Adolescent; Adult; Age; Body Mass Index; Diabetes; Diabetes, Gestational - ethnology; Emigrants and Immigrants; Ethnicity; Female; Florida - epidemiology; Health risk assessment; Hispanic Americans; Hospitals; Humans; Insulin resistance; Minority & ethnic groups; Mothers; Native North Americans; Nutrition; Obesity; Obesity - complications; Obesity - ethnology; Overweight; Population; Pregnancy; Prevalence; Race; Womens health; Young Adult; Florida; United States > US; Alaska
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1930-739X
• DOI: 10.1002/oby.20025

Objective: We examined the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among foreign‐born and U.S.‐born mothers by race/ethnicity and BMI category. Design and Method: We used 2004‐2007 linked birth certificate and maternal hospital discharge data of live, singleton deliveries in Florida to compare GDM risk among foreign‐born and U.S.‐born mothers by race/ethnicity and BMI category. We examined maternal BMI and controlled for maternal age, parity, and height. Results: Overall, 22.4% of the women in our study were foreign born. The relative risk (RR) of GDM among women who were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg m−2) was higher than among women with normal BMI (18.5‐24.9 kg m−2) regardless of nativity, ranging from 1.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.0, 1.9) to 3.8 (95% CI = 2.1, 7.2).Foreign‐born women also had a higher GDM risk than U.S.‐born women, with RR ranging from 1.1 (95% CI = 1.1, 1.2) to 2.1 (95% CI = 1.4, 3.1). This finding was independent of BMI, age, parity, and height for all racial/ethnicity groups. Conclusions: Although we found differences in age, parity, and height by nativity, these differences did not substantially reduce the increased risk of GDM among foreign‐born mothers. Health practitioners should be aware of and have a better understanding of how race/ethnicity and nativity can affect women with a high risk of GDM. Although BMI is a major risk factor for GDM, it does not appear to be associated with race/ethnicity or nativity.