Washington, Nov 2 : Age and body mass index (BMI) may predict the probability of developing gestational diabetes, especially amongst South Asian and Black African women, a new study has revealed.

The study looked at the link between maternal age, BMI and racial origin with the development of GDM and how they interact with each other.

Data were collected on 585,291 pregnancies in women from 1988-2000 and took into consideration 1,688 women who developed GDM and 172,632 who did not.

The study found a strong association between GDM development and advancing maternal age, which varied by racial group.

Using White European women age 20-24 years as a comparison group, White European women older than 30 years had significantly higher odds ratios (ORs) for developing GDM.

White European women under the age of 20 were the only group to have significantly lower ORs for developing GDM.

There was a strong association between GDM development and advancing maternal age which varied by racial group.

Using White European women age 20-24 years as a comparison group, white European women older than 30 years had significantly higher odds ratios (ORs)for developing GDM.

The ORs for GDM development were also significantly higher in the other racial groups but at a younger maternal age (older than 25 years if they were Black Africans or Black Caribbeans and older than 20 years if they were South Asians).

“This new research shows that maternal age, alone and in correlation with the maternal racial origin, may also be a significant factor contributing to the development of gestational diabetes,” Dr Makrina Savvidou, Consultant in Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine, and co-author of the paper said.

“It is important that clinicians are aware of all the contributing factors as gestational diabetes can result in adverse perinatal outcomes,” she added.

The research has been published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. (ANI)